Camp Avatar
by Lady Sayomi
Summary: Modern day AU. Katara and the gang go to summer camp to have some fun, but the fun seems long gone when Zuko and Katara are put on the same camp team. ZUTARA! Epilogue just added NOW COMPLETE.
1. Arriving at camp and finding enemies

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 1**

**A/N: Hey guys! Just to let you know, this story is AU, or alternate universe, so the characters don't have their bending powers and its set in modern times.**

**Katara is 17, Sokka and Zuko are 18, Toph and Aang are 15.**

**This story IS GOING TO BE ZUTARAm so haters don't read it!**

**Enjoy! **

OOOOOOOO

The mini bus went over yet another pothole, causing a girl to groan as she was jolted from her hasty nap.

Katara yawned, and stretched. Sitting on a bus for 3 hours wasn't easy on her back, and she was so tired. Her blue eyes struggled to stay open as she listened to her brother and two best friends talking.

"And look, as a graduation present, mom bought me a boomerang!" Her brother Sokka bragged to Aang and Toph, her best friends.

Aang was 15, and was one of the most optimistic people Katara knew. He was already for adventure, and was the peacemaker of their little group. Just two weeks ago, he had shaved his head in protest against eating meat. That little vegetarian was crazy.

Toph was also Aang's age, and was extremely stubborn and feisty. She had been born blind, but instead of shrinking away from the world, she let her amazing senses help her around. She didn't use a cane or a dog; she naturally had refused to let anyone help her.

And then there was Sokka, Katara's brother. He was pig-headed and sarcastic but she loved him very much.

"That's great Sokka!" Aang exclaimed, admiring the shiny boomerang.

"It looks pretty cool." Toph said, smirking.

"Why thank you Toph, I think so……" he stopped, remembering she was blind.

"Why do you feel the need to do that?" She smirked and Katara giggled turning to look out of the window. She then gasped.

"Guys, we're here!" She said, still looking out the window.

The bus was headed to Camp Avatar, the week-long sleep-away camp for teens. There were outdoor activities, bunks, camp fires; basically, everything in a normal sleep-away camp.

Katara had been going to Camp Avatar since she was a freshman in high school and she loved it.

"Woo-hoo! I've never been to this camp before…..I hope it's fun." Aang said.

"And I've never been to sleep-away camp period." Toph said.

"It's awesome your parents let you go this year!" Katara said. Toph's family was extremely strict, and practically didn't let their daughter do anything.

"Who says my parents let me go?" Toph asked slyly.

"Geez Toph. What excuse did you use this time?"

"Let's just say they think I am on my way to Virginia right now."

"I'm not even gonna ask. You got any snacks Katara?"

She sighed, and handed her brother a granola bar. He hungrily bit it, not even bothering to see what it was he was eating. Suddenly, his eyes flew open.

"Ew! This is what chicks eat when they want to go on a diet!" he said, shoving the granola bar back at Katara.

"No its not….these are healthy! Besides, we won't have dinner for a few hours."

"Give that back." Sokka grumbled. Eating gross food was better then not eating at all, for Sokka at least.

"You're such a wuss." Toph poked Sokka in the head.

"Am NOT!"

Katara sighed, closing her eyes. She was so tired….maybe she could sleep for a few minutes before they reached camp.

"Katara, WAKE UP! GET OUT OF THE SEAT!" Sokka shook her awake. She blinked her eyes sleepily and got her luggage from under the seat while her friends did the same. She walked down the aisle and off the bus.

She immediately felt renewed with the fresh lake air that surrounded Camp Avatar. Suddenly aware of her rather disgruntled appearance, she smoothed her braided hair and blue tank top.

"Hey sugarqueen, where do we go now?" Toph asked Katara.

"We have to go to the mess hall. Come on guys!" she called to Sokka and Aang. They followed the dirt path to a biggest building in the whole camp that Katara knew very well.

"Ahh, air conditioning." Sokka threw up his arms as they walked inside the cool building.

Katara walked over to a small table, where a small lady was sitting.

"Oh, hello Katara." The lady said.

"Hi Aunt Wu. How are things?"

"Pretty good. The administration just put me in charge of activities, and I've been busier then ever."

"That's good."

"Did you bring friends? Oh, there's you brother, how nice."

"Yeah. Their names are Toph Bei-Fong and Aang Gyatso."

Aunt Wu checked their names off on a clipboard in her hand then called them over.

"Here are your bunking cards. Meet back here for team assignments and schedules. Have fun!" She said as she handed them little cards.

Katara quickly turned to her friends.

"What bunks do you have?"

Aang read his. "B-2."

"B-2." Sokka said. He then read Toph's.

"G-1".

Katara's face fell as she saw "G-3" on her card; none of them would be together!

"Don't worry; we'll see each other at breakfast and campfire!" She said, trying make the best of the situation.

"Alright, the camp has 6 bunkhouses; 3 are the guy's and 3 are the girl's. "B" means boys, and "G" means girls."

Sokka and Aang headed over to the boy's side of the camp and Toph and Katara departed for their bunkhouses. Bidding goodbye to Toph, Katara continued up the path to the last house, dragging her luggage on the ground behind her. The hot summer sun beat down on her back, making her long for a cool swim in the lake.

She finally reached the house marked '3' and opened the door. She stepped inside, inhaling the sweet scent of pine.

Her bunk house had only three beds, since the camp only had about 20 people in it at a time. It ran every week of the summer, and only took a small number of people each week. That's why Katara loved it; every year she bonded with the whole camp and everyone was like a family.

She plunked her luggage down on a bed and sat down. She was obviously the first of her roommates to arrive. She unpacked her clothes into the trundle under her bunk and laid down on the bed hoping for a quick nap.

OOOOOO

Zuko leaned his head against the window of his uncle's car, looking out onto Camp Avatar. To him it was a prison – a place where he would be held captive for a while week while counselors forced him to do crafts and swim in a dirty lake. He sighed.

"Zuko, are you alright?" his uncle, Iroh, asked.

"I'm FINE. You've been asking me that all afternoon!" Zuko snapped. After all, it was his uncle's fault he was attending this stupid camp.

Iroh had volunteered to work in the kitchens, since baking was one of his god-given talents, and so dragged Zuko along to the camp with him, insisting the whole time that the experience was going to be "fun". Zuko knew he needed to get out more but it just felt so much better to do things on your own with no one to rely on except yourself. His jujitsu had taught him that.

Iroh's car pulled up to the mess hall and parked. Zuko got out of the car and grabbed his bags. Iroh then pulled him into the mess hall to log in. Some lady named Aunt Wu gave him a little card and explained the bunking situation before sending Iroh off to the kitchens to get dinner started.

Zuko trudged up the path to the boy's bunks. What was his bunk? He looked down to see "B-3", and walked to the last of the bunks. He opened the door to find his other two roommates sitting on beds. They looked up as he walked in.

Zuko felt uneasy as these two boys stared at him. He glanced their way.

"Hey." He muttered. A boy about his age with shaggy brown hair stood up and addressed Zuko.

"Hey. I'm Jet, and this is Haru. We're your new roommates." Jet grinned, and Zuko noticed a toothpick hanging out of the corner of his mouth. He almost smirked and commented about that silly thing, but stopped himself.

Haru waved his hand, and went back to fixing his hair in his hand-held mirror. Zuko raised his eyebrows towards Jet.

Jet smirked back letting him know what he thought of Haru's 'interesting' behavior.

As soon as Zuko unpacked his clothes a bell rang.

"Come on, we have to go to the mess hall for team instructions." Jet informed Zuko. He nodded, and followed the boy out the door.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Katara woke up as a girl walked in the door. She had short brown hair and huge eyes.

"Oh, hi! I'm Suki." She introduced herself. Katara grinned; this girl seemed really nice.

"I'm Katara! Is this your first time at camp?" she asked.

"Yes. I didn't have martial arts camp this summer so I decided to come here for a week." Suki said.

"You do martial arts? What kind?"

"Mostly Gatka, but I do some Kendo also. I love traditional weaponry."

"Ooh, I've never heard of those forms before! That sounds really cool."

"Yeah, it is. What do you do?" Suki asked as she unpacked her clothes.

"I swim competitively. I've been doing it since I was six!" Katara grinned at how easy her roommate was to talk to.

"That's awesome. So, what do we do at this camp?" Suki asked.

Katara was just about to answer as another girl walked in the door. She was wearing light pink, and had a braid going down her back.

"Hello. My name is Song." The girl said.

"Hi!" Katara and Suki said.

Song was quiet, but nice. The girls continued to talk as Song unpacked.

"We totally have to have a party!" Suki exclaimed.

"The girls of bunk 3 RULE!" Katara giggled.

Song smiled. "That sounds like fun." She said quietly.

"Do we ever get to see guys?" Suki asked. Katara laughed.

"Of course! At the end of the week, there's a big dance in the mess hall and we all get together."

"Yes!" Suki said. Before the girls could say anymore a bell rang.

"What was that?" Song asked.

"Oh, just the bell for assembly in the mess hall." Katara said.

"They're going to assign teams right now."

They girls exited their bunkhouse and went to the mess hall. Katara saw Toph and waved to her.

A stern man stood on one of the tables in the hall.

"Attention boys and girls! Please gather around!" All the teens sat down around him.

"My name is Master Rokku, and I am camp coordinator and director. I have the teams for this year planned out and I expect that everyone will get along with their teammates accordingly."

As he kept talking, Katara was looking around at her camp mates. She saw some guy who kept flipping his hair and then looked to the left of him. A guy about her age was sitting next to him. He had a flame-shaped burn over his eye! She gasped; that looked extremely painful.

Suddenly flame-guy looked over at her and noticed her staring. He glared in her direction causing her to narrow her eyes.

_Why was he so touchy?_

Zuko noticed a tan girl in blue staring at his scar. He was taken aback by the look on her face; it wasn't one of horror, but curiosity. He glared at her before noticing what he was doing. She looked surprised and quickly turned away.

He then turned his attention to Rokku who was still talking.

"Ok, there are going to be four teams based on the four elements of our planet – water, earth, fire and air."

He sounded like Zuko's jujitsu master.

"On Team Fire there is Katara K., Zuko S., Longshot F., Yue P., and Teo M. Please go to that corner of the hall to wait while I continue announcing the teams."

Katara gasped as she realized the boy with the scar was in her group. She stiffly walked to the corner and plunked down, seething. He sat down across from her, and it was plain to anyone that he did not like his group. The three other group members sat down in silence.

It was unbearable.

As soon as Rokku finished the teams he instructed them to introduce themselves and say something they liked to do.

"I'll go first." Katara volunteered.

"My name is Katara and I love to swim."

A girl with white hair went next.

"My name is Yue and I like to sew."

A boy in a wheelchair spoke.

"Hey! I'm Teo and I love to fly gliders."

The boy with the scar glared at everyone before mumbling something incomprehensible.

"What was that?" Katara asked, eyebrows raised.

The boy glared at her.

"My name is Zuko." Katara rolled her eyes. He was being a pain in the ass.

"And what do you like to do?"

"Anything besides being here." He hissed. Everyone widened their eyes at his bitterness.

"Um, ok. You go next." Katara said, pointing a boy with thick eyebrows.

He quietly introduced himself as Longshot, and said he loved archery.

"Ok, great! Is this everyone's first time here?" Katara asked.

Yue and Teo nodded.

"I live up north in the freezing ice, and so this whole 'summer camp' is new to me!" Yue gently said.

"Obviously, I don't go camping a lot. This thing gets in the way!" Teo chuckled, pointing to his wheelchair.

Katara grinned. "What about you two?" she asked Zuko and Longshot.

Longshot shook his head, indicating he had been here before. Zuko didn't say anything.

"Zuko?" Katara asked. He just glared at her. She couldn't believe anyone could be so pissy!

"Hello? We're trying to get to know each other! The least you could do is PRETEND to be interested." Katara spat, fed up with his attitude.

Zuko's eyes widened. No one ever talked to him like that!

"I don't want to be here and I don't care about your little interests."

Katara gasped.

"Then WHY ARE YOU HERE?" The rest of the group shrunk away from the feuding teens.

"I was forced."

"That's weak. Did your mommy make you go?"

"I don't have a mother." A look of pain crossed his face and Katara realized she had hit a nerve.

"I…I'm sorry.."

"What do you care? You don't even know!" Zuko yelled. Suddenly, Katara and Zuko noticed the whole mess hall was quiet and staring at them. Rokku seethed.

"Katara! Zuko! You have cleaning duty tonight after dinner for your unseemly actions." He said.

Katara felt her face heat up but Zuko didn't even seem to care.

"Thanks a lot!" Katara hissed. He glared in her direction.

"You think this is MY fault?"

"Why, yes, I do."

"OK, dinner is served now. You may sit where you wish." Rokku said before exiting the bulding.

Katara ran over to Toph and Aang.

"I can't believe what just happened!" she said.

Toph laughed.

"Nice Katara; in trouble on the first day!"

"That Zuko seems like a jerk." Aang said.

"Trust me, he is. How I am supposed to be on his team for an entire week???" Katara felt despair at her once sunny week.

Sokka appeared beside the group.

"Katara! What were you doing?" She rolled her eyes.

"Come on, let's get some food." She went to the buffet. The delicious smell that was wafting from the food laid out made her feel a little better.

"Whoa, the food's never been this good!" Sokka was practically drooling at the smells.

"Hope they have a salad bar." Aang said. "No way! They do!" He hurried over to another section of the buffet, heaping greens on his plate. Sokka found his way over to the soda machine and was fiddling with it to get his dollar in.

"Katara what food is there?" Toph asked.

"Oh, over here there's ribs, macaroni, green beans, mashed potatoes, fries, gravy, barbeque sauce…"

"Whoa, nice." Toph said, serving herself the macaroni.

Katara dug into the ribs and potatoes, remembering not to eat too much.

She sat down at a table and waited for her friends. But she noticed Zuko sitting alone at another table on the opposite side of the hall. He was quickly eating, and she felt a pang of sympathy roll over her.

She would want someone eating with her, especially on her first day of camp.

_Come on Katara, he was a real asshole! Why do you even care?_ Her conscience reprimanded her.

_He just looks so lonely…… _

_Well, after everyone heard you two fighting I'm sure no one wants to sit with him. _

Katara mentally slapped herself. She felt bad for fighting.

"Hey sugarqueen, move over." Toph plunked her tray on the table, Aang and Sokka close behind her. She and her friends ate and talked about their groups before dinner was over. As everyone exited the dining hall to go to their bunks, Katara and Zuko sat and waited for Rokku to instruct them on their punishment.

He entered, and handed rags and buckets to the two teens, instructing them to clean the tables and floor.

Zuko wrinkled his nose. This cafeteria was gross, and he was not looking forward to cleaning it.

Katara got right to work scrubbing the tables. There was hard macaroni plastered on one of them, and she was working furiously to get it off, painfully aware of the thick silence that rested between her and Zuko.

"Hey, can I have a clean rag?" Katara asked shyly. Zuko handed her a rag without looking at her and continued scrubbing his table obstinately.

Then Iroh walked out of the kitchen, taking off his apron. He spotted his nephew and some girl scrubbing tables and approached the girl.

"What are you doing?" He politely asked.

"We have to clean this whole place." Katara grimaced as she addressed the old man.

"But why? A pretty young woman such as you should not be scrubbing tables!"

She blushed and giggled.

"Thanks, but I got in trouble with this guy over here."

"Oh, I see. Is there some way I can help?" he asked. Zuko didn't even notice his uncle as he started scrubbing the floor.

"You could help this guy with his temper." Katara said, glaring at Zuko's back.

"What has my nephew done?"

Katara gasped. "HE'S your NEPHEW?"

Suddenly, Zuko turned around and noticed his uncle.

"Uncle! What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Just leaving the kitchens. We're done for the night. What have you done to get yourself and this young lady in trouble?"

"She's NOT a lady." Zuko growled, very much aware that he sounded like a spoiled brat.

"Then what am I?" Katara felt her anger rising.

"Someone who manages to infuriate me." Zuko spat as he turned around.

Katara gasped and threw her rag at his head, hitting him with a wet smack. He whipped around.

"Hey!" Iroh stepped between the two teens who looked ready to kill each other.

"Miss, you can leave. I would like to have a word with Zuko about respect." Katara practically ran out of the building. Zuko glared at her retreating back.

"Zuko, what has gotten into you?"

"Nothing."

"I don't know what happened when you got in trouble, but I advise against it happening again. You must learn to control your emotions!"

"She started it." _Why do I sound like a whiny brat?_

"Zuko, listen. Try to respect other people, and you might find some new acquaintances in unexpected places." Iroh reprimanded him.

Zuko sighed. His uncle couldn't see that Zuko would rather die then make relationships with anyone.

"I'm going to bed." Zuko curtly turned on his heel and headed out the door. Iroh shook his head. His nephew was headed down the wrong path.

OOOOOO

Katara ran until she reached her bunkhouse. She wrenched open the door and stepped inside. Suki and Song were talking on Suki's bed, but when Katara came in they beckoned her over.

"What happened?" Suki inquired.

Katara told them the whole story.

"Whoa, who knew this guy was such a jerk?" Suki said.

"You should try to give him a second chance." Song said.

"I know I should, but it's so hard! He probably thinks I'm an idiot anyway." Katara sighed.

"Now that I think about it, it was stupid of me to get in a fight. The reason for our fight was retarded!"

"We'd better get to bed." Suki said.

"You can apologize tomorrow."

Katara climbed into her bed and closed her eyes, trying to shut out the day's events.

OOOOO

**So, what do you think? PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!**


	2. Hooray for teamwork

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 2**

**Don't forget; this is a modern day AU! NO BENDING!!!**

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers!**

OOOOOO

Zuko stormed into his bunk after his cleaning duties were done. How dare Uncle offer him advice on respect? He obviously didn't know how women were.

He found Jet still awake, sitting on his bed and reading a book. He grunted in his direction before flopping on his bed in despair at the thought of staying at Camp Avatar another minute.

"Dude, what happened in the mess hall?" Jet put down his book and curiously glanced toward the brooding teen.

"This girl and I got in a fight and we had to clean the tables." Zuko said. He didn't want to divulge too much.

"She was a looker though. Is she single or not?" Zuko saw a gleam of interest in Jet's eyes.

"How the hell would I know?"

"I don't know." Jet lay down on his bed. " 'night." Zuko didn't even respond.

_She's a LOOKER? Is he on crack? _Zuko mentally shook his head. He didn't even recall what she had looked like. She had brown hair, tan skin, she was wearing blue…..big deal. It was then he realized he didn't even know her eye color.

_It must be really ugly,_ he decided, falling asleep.

The next morning the campers were woken up by the same bell that had been used to call them to the mess hall the previous day.

Katara yawned and stretched. Her bunk was so soft and warm and she slept like a baby. She sat up to see Suki already dressed and doing her hair.

"Hey!" she said cheerfully. Katara grinned.

"Morning. What are you doing up so early?" Katara asked. Suki shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm a pretty early riser."

"You're the exact opposite of me! I sleep in, and stay up late."

"You like the moon then?"

"You could say that." Suki jumped on Song's bed.

"Hey girl, wake up. Rokku will be pissed if you're not in the mess hall in a half an hour!"

Song blinked sleepily and yawned.

"I had the best sleep."

"So did I." Katara said. She pulled on jean shorts and a Camp Avatar tee.

"Hmmm, Suki, could you do my hair? I'm sick of wearing it in a braid." Katara tilted her head in the mirror. Suki agreed, and piled Katara's thick hair into a messy bun on top of her head.

She laughed.

"You know, I can never do messy buns. They're so hard!"

"I've had a lot of practice with the other girls in my Gatka class." All three girls were dressed and sitting on Katara's bed.

"What are we doing today?" Song asked.

"It'll probably be something inside; most likely team-building." Katara rolled her eyes as she thought of her team and who was on it.

"That'll be fun!" Suki said, blushing.

Katara widened her eyes.

"Suki, do you _like_ someone on your team?" She grinned.

"Well, there is this guy who has a ponytail and wears blue. His name starts with an 'S'….oh, what's his name?" She tapped her lip.

"Is it Sokka?" Katara widened her eyes in shock.

"Yes! Thanks." Suki grinned.

"Omigod, he's my brother!" Katara gasped.

"Oh no, is that a bad thing?" Suki's grin vanished.

Katara laughed. "No! It's so funny!"

Song joined in Katara's laughter while Suki blushed. Suddenly, the bell sounded again.

"Uh-oh, that's the five-minute warning bell! Come on!" Katara grabbed her roommies and bolted for the mess hall.

When the girls ran inside, they found everyone already situated into their teams. Katara quickly walked over to a corner of that hall where hers was and sat down.

"Hey Katara." Yue waved. "Did you oversleep?"

"No, I was talking a little too long." She admitted. Glancing around, she saw Teo and Longshot practically asleep on the floor.

"Did you guys get any sleep last night?" she asked.

Teo shook his head.

"Some guys in the second bunkhouse had a party or something. We couldn't sleep at all."

"Ha, my brother and friend are in that bunk! They would have a party. I'll talk to them; sorry about that."

Longshot shrugged, silently telling her it was ok.

Rokku walked to the middle of the cafeteria before Katara realized Zuko wasn't there. As soon as Rokku opened his mouth, he burst through the doors with two other guys.

"Late, mister Zuko." Rokku shook his head in disapproval.

"Sorry sir." Zuko slunk over to his team and tried to make himself as small as possible.

"Ok, today is a teambuilding day." Rokku said.

"You will make a cheer for your team to use during competition days. There's posterboard to present your team name, and you will give the cheer to us all right in here. We should finish by lunch and we'll break. Afterwards, I have a surprise for you."

Everyone nodded at his words. Katara knew the drill very well; it had been the same for the past three years.

"Alright, get to work!" Rokku announced. Katara and Yue got up and fetched some posterboard and markers.

"Ok guys, let's brainstorm some cheers." Katara said.

"Well, it has to be about fire, since that's out team name." Teo said.

"And sorry, I don't think I can do cartwheels or pyramids or anything." He continued, patting his wheelchair.

"We are NOT doing anything like that." Zuko spoke up for the first time.

"You will do whatever this team comes up with." Katara spoke calmly to him. She then turned back to business, not wanting to get into a fight.

"Ok, let's think of theatrics. Can anyone do gymnastics? I can do a bit."

"I can." Yue volunteered.

"Great! Ok, so me and Yue can cartwheel or something, and the guys can actually say the cheer." Katara made a note on the back of the posterboard.

"Any ideas for the words?" Teo asked.

"What rhymes with fire?" Katara asked absentmindedly.

"Wire? Sire? Higher? Dire? Mire? Acquire? Attire?" Teo listed words rapidly.

"OK THAT'S GOOD!" Yue interrupted him.

"Let's come up with the first line." Longshot quietly said.

"What about… 'Don't mess with fire'?" Teo asked.

Katara nodded. "That's good; I like it!"

"Second line?" Yue asked.

" 'Admire from afar as we climb higher' ?" Teo asked.

"You're good." Said Katara, who was scribbling furiously on the posterboard.

"And then, 'No one can acquire our desire to transpire'?" Teo volunteered.

Zuko mentally face-palmed himself. This was so gay it wasn't even funny.

"TEAM FIRE!!!" Teo finished, flinging his arms in the air.

Yue and Katara laughed.

"That's fine Teo. Are you a poet?" Yue asked.

"Sometimes I write poetry…" he admitted.

Zuko couldn't take it any longer.

"This is horrible. We'll be the laughingstock of the whole camp!" he said, looking straight at Katara.

Her face twisted.

"Zuko, this is for fun. Do you know what that word means?" she asked.

"That doesn't matter." He spat.

"Look, if you don't want to do this, you can hold the poster and JUST STAND THERE." Katara gritted her teeth in an effort not to slap the guy. _Why did he have to be so negative?_

"We should come up with a new cheer."

"Alright then, if you can come up with one, we can vote on which one we like best; yours or Teo's." Katara said. Zuko gaped at her.

"I can't write poetry!" he whined.

"Any other suggestions?" Katara whipped around in fury.

Zuko simply glared back at her. "We'll go with Teo's idea then." Katara said.

Zuko crossed his arms and skulked while everyone else worked.

"Longshot, do you want to recite the cheer?" Katara kindly asked. He nodded.

"Alright then. Katara and I will do gymnastics while Teo and Longshot recite, and at the end we'll all jump in and say 'team fire'! Oh, and Zuko will hold the poster." Yue said.

"Perfect!" Katara nodded. "Everyone in agreement?" Everyone nodded.

"How should we do the poster?" Teo asked.

"Let's just write the cheer down." Zuko said.

"That's boring." Yue pouted.

"We could actually do that." Katara mused. Yue gaped at her.

"You like Zuko's idea?"

"HEY!"

"It's not bad……an elaborate poster will distract from out performance." Katara said.

"Can we at least make a border of flames?" Teo pleaded.

"Go ahead. Boys, you work on the poster while Yue and I think of a routine." Katara and Yue stood up and pushed a table out of the way. Zuko watched them secretly as he began writing.

"Katara, can you do a backflip?"

"Whoa, that's kinda dangerous!"

"I can do one without a mat."

"Alright. I can bend over backwards. Would that be good to do?"

"That's fine. Ok, spot me." Yue got into a squatting position before flipping over to land neatly on her feet.

"Good job!" Katara said.

"Thanks. Ok, do your backbend." Zuko peered at Katara out of the corner of his eye. She bent backwards until her slender body formed a bridge, and she stayed in that position before pushing her feet of the ground. She now stood on her hands.

Yue clapped.

"That was good too!" she giggled. "And look, you had an audience." She pointed to Zuko.

"Did you like that Zuko?" Katara teased as he turned tomato red.

"I wasn't even watching."

"Whatever. Let's do that again Yue."

They kept practicing until Longshot tapped Katara on the shoulder.

"Ooh, you're done with the poster?" He nodded.

"Great job team fire!" she high-fived Yue.

The poster turned out ok. No, better then ok. The words were written in boy scrawl, but the flames on the border looked really cool.

"Those look nice." Yue said.

"Who drew those?" Katara asked.

"Zuko!" said Teo.

"Those are really good!" Katara grinned at him. He used every muscle in his body to keep from smiling back at her. _Damn, she has a nice smile….._

Just then, Rokku strode back to the center of the mess hall.

"Hopefully everyone is finished." He said.

"Who wants to go first?" Katara raised her hand, knowing it was better to go first and get it out of the way.

"Alright, team fire please get up here." They carried their poster up to the center of the room as the 3 other groups sat down to watch the cheers.

Zuko held up the poster as Katara and Yue got into position. Longshot and Teo took a breath, ready to recite.

"Don't mess with fire. Admire from afar as we climb higher. No one can acquire our desire to transpire!"

Katara did her backbend as Yue flipped.

She landed next to her group and screamed with everyone else:

"TEAM FIRE!!"

The groups clapped as the team exited.

"Yay Sugarqueen!" Toph cheered.

Katara grinned as she sat down.

"Good job guys!" she high-fived everyone, even Zuko. When she hit his hand, something shot up her back, and she was surprised to find out how strong his hand was. She looked into his eyes.

"I didn't know you were such a good drawer."

"I didn't either." He pulled his hand from hers, and she turned back around.

Startled, he realized her eyes were a beautiful blue. Not ugly AT ALL.

Just then, Sokka's team took the floor. Sokka was obviously the leader of his group, since he was in front clutching a microphone. Katara saw Suki behind him and giggled.

"Hello ladies, I'm Sokka. Let me tell ya, I'm here to rock ya!" Suki giggled.

"Go team WATER!!!!" he screamed, and everyone on his team started dancing maniacally. Katara laughed out loud along with everyone else.

Toph and Aang were on the same team, earth. Their cheer was just as short as Sokka's, but funnier since they performed a little skit.

Team air went next, and Katara only knew Song on that team. Theirs was ok; not as funny, but still faithful to their team.

When everyone was done, Rokku collected their posterboards and stood in front of them.

"That was very good. Congratulations to all the teams. Now for the surprise."

Katara sat up a bit straighter as she strained her ears.

_A surprise? They haven't done this before. _She thought.

"We have another team building activity. Only this time, there are stakes involved."

"Everyone is to go outside and find tent materials with their team's colors. Set up the tent with your team, and the first to do so wins. This challenge is about communication and cooperation."

_What? Usually they just let us swim in the lake after this_. Katara thought.

"Ahhh, but what are the stakes? Well, the team to set up their tent first gets the surprise, and the losing teams have to sleep in their tents the way they are when we call stop time."

_Great surprise_. Zuko thought to himself.

"START!" Rokku thundered. Everyone sprang into actions as they raced for the door to the mess hall. Katara got outside and glanced around, her eyes adjusting to the bright summer sun. She saw a pile of red materials about 100 yards away. She turned to her team behind her and motioned for them to follow her. They reached the camping equipment.

"Ok guys, we have to communicate and work together to win. We can do this!" She grabbed a pole and held it up.

"What connects to this? It looks like the main pole!" Zuko raced toward her with some rope and two smaller poles.

"Here. This might be the framework." He said. Katara paused for a moment in surprise. But she let it pass over as she accepted his help.

Making a tent was tricky, and required careful precision and concentration. After a while, Katara stopped to take a drink of water. She glanced over at the other teams, and saw with surprise that the earth team was practically done with their tent. And Aang and Toph were on that team!

She hurried back to work, but to no avail. As the earth team finished Rokku called stop on everyone, leaving Katara with a half-finished tent and a heavy heart.

OOOOO

**The next chapter is going to be all about the night! Ha, Katara and Zuko have to sleep together! Muahahahaha! **

**Please review!**


	3. The Long Night

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 3**

**Thanks to my wonderful reviewers!!! You guys are the best, I don't know where I'd be without you. **

OOOOOO

It was dinnertime after the tent-building competition, and Katara was eating in the mess hall with her friends.

"Don't be upset Sugarqueen. Camping under the stars will be fun." Toph tried to reassure her friend.

"But what about Zuko? I'll be sleeping with him!" she moaned. She hardly touched her food, and she knew she would pay for her hunger later. But she was too distracted and upset.

"Katara, if you EVER say that again….well, nevermind. The point is, you're griping over NOTHING. You're in a fun camp with your friends and complaining over sleeping under the stars on a warm summer night. There are worse things that could happen to someone." Sokka said.

Katara squeezed her eyes shut as he said this. Sokka was right and when he said this she couldn't help but think of her mother who suffered for her. She WAS being selfish!

"I'm so sorry guys! I am complaining over nothing."

"It's ok Katara. That Zuko does seem like a jerk." Aang said. "By the way, can I have your apple?"

"Take it, I'm not very hungry right now. I'll just get something later."

Then Rokku walked in.

"Congratulations to the earth team!" he said. Toph and Aang high-fived as their other teammates cheered.

"Now for their surprise; camp counselor Madam Wu is taking you to the movies!" Toph groaned as Aang cheered.

"What a nice surprise! I've always wanted to SEE a movie." Toph rolled her eyes.

"Come on Toph, it'll be ok. I'll sit by you and we can throw popcorn at Madam Wu." Aang offered to cheer her up. It worked.

"Yeah Twinkletoes!" Toph's grin returned.

"All earth team members follow me. The rest of you, get ready to spend a wonderful night outdoors!" Everyone else groaned.

"See you guys!" Toph and Aang hurried after Rokku.

Another man walked in the room.

"My name is Coach Pakku, and I will be supervising you all tonight!" he glared at them sternly as if to say "no monkey business". Katara sighed.

"Everyone outside and to their tents!" he barked. Katara waved a silent goodbye to Sokka as she went outside. Zuko appeared beside her as they walked quietly to their almost-set-up tent. They sat in it in silence.

Coach Pakku appeared in their tent doorway.

"Alright guys, you can talk and have fun. This is not prison; but please don't be too noisy. Goodnight." He walked away, closing the flap.

Katara heard him saying that to the other teams.

"Alright, what shall we do for fun?" She asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Fun? How can we have fun? Let's just go to bed."

"Zuko? Newsflash! Its 8 'o clock. Unless you normally go to bed at this time, please; let's TRY to make this experience fun." Katara glared at him, silently telling him that he would be forced to have fun if he couldn't on his own. He returned the glare while their teammates looked on warily.

"This is going to be a long night." Teo whispered to Yue. She nodded in agreement.

"Does anyone have cards?" Katara asked. Surprisingly, Longshot had a deck.

"Can we play BS?" she asked as she shuffled.

"Ooh, I love that game!" Yue said.

But after about 10 rounds of that game she found she didn't love it anymore.

"Let's play something else." Zuko said, throwing his cards in the air. "I've never been so bored in my life."

"Fine, I'll think of some way to entertain you. Seriously, you act like a prince! I'm sorry we're stuck out here, and I'm sorry you're bored! COULD YOU AT LEAST TRY TO MAKE THIS SITUATION BETTER?" complete silence met her shouts. A cricket chirped in the woods.

"It doesn't seem that you're helping the situation either." Zuko smirked. Katara blushed as she realized she had blown his remark way out of proportion. Hell, she was bored too!

"Alright. I'm sorry." She hung her head. Longshot put a comforting hand on her shoulder, assuring her it was ok.

"Let's do something else." Yue said gently.

"We could play 'Would You Rather'!" Teo exclaimed.

Yue's eyes lit up. "I've played that before, it's fun!"

"Alright, you can go first." Katara said, not wanting to admit she didn't know how to play the game.

"Teo, would you rather burn to death or drown?"

"The most basic question. I'd say drown. Your turn Longshot!"

"Drown."

Zuko spoke next. "Drown." He touched the angry burn on his face. Katara noticed this, and felt pity for him. How had he gotten that scar?

"I think I'd rather burn." Katara said, realizing it was her turn. Everyone looked at her.

"Why?" Zuko asked, his voice full of surprise.

"Well, I love water and I swim competitively. Having something you love kill you would be horrible; so I guess I'd rather burn."

Zuko had never thought of it like that before. He would simply choose the less painful method of death; having experience with burns, he would have taken drowning any day.

"Alright Teo, ask a question!" Yue said.

"Would you rather die of a drug overdose or alcohol poisoning?"

What a weird kid.

"Alcohol." Zuko said.

"Drug." Longshot said.

"Alcohol." Katara and Yue said.

"Zuko, your turn!" Teo said.

He scrunched his nose trying to think of a good question.

"Umm, someone else can go." He mumbled.

"No, just go!" Yue rolled her eyes.

"Ok, um….would you rather……get a tattoo or shave your head?"

"Where's the tattoo?" Katara asked.

"Your neck."

"Oh. Shave my head." She consented.

"Are you kidding? Tattoo all the way!" Yue laughed.

"Shave." Teo grinned. "It wouldn't take long for my hair to grow back."

Longshot nodded in agreement.

"Ok, would you rather choose a blonde boyfriend/girlfriend or a brunette boyfriend/girlfriend?"

"Blonde." Yue giggled.

"Blonde." Teo agreed.

"Why DO guys like blondes?" Katara asked.

"They just…stand out more, and usually are perkier then brunettes."

"Thanks. I'll remember that comment forever." Katara flatly stated.

"Actually, that's the problem with blondes." Zuko said. Katara stared.

"I guess I'd prefer brunettes." Longshot nodded again in agreement.

Katara shot Zuko a look. He was serious! The thought secretly relieved her , but she had no clue why.

As the night went on, the questions became more and more personal, and in the end, they just decided to play truth or truth seeing as they couldn't get out of their tent to do dares.

"Katara, truth or truth?" Yue asked.

"Let me think…I'll have to go with truth."

"Have you ever made out with anyone?"

"Yes."

"Details girl!"

"His name was Cean (cee-an), and it was my freshman year of highschool."

"Are you still with him?"

"No. He was a jerk. Anyways, Zuko, truth or truth."

He just stared at her, brow raised.

"Heh heh….ok. Have you ever drank before?"

"Once. I had some of uncle's firewhiskey."

"Whadja think?" Teo asked.

"It wasn't very good." He mumbled.

"How refreshing; a senior who doesn't get wasted every weekend." Katara proclaimed.

"Are a lot of guys you know like that?" Yue asked.

"Yeah. My school….ugh." she grimaced.

"Have you drank?" Zuko asked.

"Well…..yeah. It was at a party, and I had some….well, I don't know what it was. It came in a little glass, and when I downed it, it was horrible." She winced.

"It was probably a shot of tequila. That stuff can kill you its so strong." Yue said.

"Hey guys, I want to go to bed now; it must be midnight. Could you help me into my sleeping bag?" Teo asked, absentmindedly placing a hand on his wheelchair wheel.

"Zuko, could you help me?" Katara asked, going over to Teo. He nodded and grabbed the boy under his arms while Katara grabbed his useless feet. They heaved him off the chair and onto his sleeping bag.

"Thanks guys." He said embarrassedly.

"No problem. I'm going to bed too." Katara plunked down on the far end of the tent onto a purple sleeping bag. To her surprise, Zuko started arranging his sleeping bag _right next to her!_

She laid down quickly with her back towards him and stiffened. She felt everyone in the tent lay down and it was quiet.

A while later, Katara had not moved from her position and Zuko was beginning to wonder if he should have laid down next to her in the first place. When he saw her lying there, he just felt compelled to be beside her.

She wasn't as bad as she at first seemed; she was a leader and a friend, not to mention Jet had been right when he said she was 'a looker'. He never would have admitted that to anyone though, even in the face of death.

He was just about to drift off when Katara suddenly turned around,

"Zuko, can I talk to you?" she whispered. His expression changed from complete surprise to one of uncaring.

"Yes."

"I was just wondering…why do you always have this barrier around you? Whenever I try to make things better for us as a team, you seem to not want to. You seem to LIKE fighting, even over nothing."

He was silent.

"I just thought about this because I know we haven't gotten along very well since we've met, and we have the whole rest of the week together. I just want to have fun here." She finished. This sounded A LOT better in her head.

"Look, I'm sorry." He said. She nodded.

"It's just not easy for me to….be open to new things…and people. I'm just not used to this." he said curtly.

"I understand. Is it because it's your first time at camp? Are you scared?" she probed, knowing she passed the line a long time ago so why not barrel on ahead.

"I don't know. These activities and…well, everything seems juvenile, and I wasn't used to having these experiences in my childhood anyway."

"Does it have to do with your scar?" Katara whispered before she could help herself. As soon as that came out of her mouth she saw him stiffen before quickly turning away.

She gasped. "Oh gods Zuko, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

He remained silent, and eventually Katara rolled over to contemplate the conversation she just had.

Why did she have to be so stupid? What did she think she could accomplish by probing into his personal life? Like he would spill his deepest darkest secrets to her; a girl he had only met yesterday.

She mentally face-palmed herself before dropping into a deep sleep.

Once Zuko heard the heavy breathing of a person fast asleep, he turned over to face Katara. He realized he shouldn't have been so rude, but it would have been hard to be completely civil!

And the way their faces almost touched when they were talking…she had been so close. She was STILL close, but also now father away then ever. He sighed and drifted into the sleep also.

The next morning dawned bright and clear. Zuko woke early to find a tangle of thick chocolate waves in his mouth! Sputtering, he realized it was Katara's hair he was practically barfing up, and he immediately stopped spitting. He gently grasped her hair out of his mouth.

Katara awoke when she felt her hair being tugged. She pulled it over the side of her shoulder, only to find it was all tangled and…..wet. Gross! She turned over to see Zuko pulling brown strands of hair from his mouth.

"Omigods, Zuko! That's disgusting! WHY WERE YOU TRYING TO EAT MY HAIR?!?!?"

Everyone in their tent woke up and stared at Zuko and Katara. What was going on between them _NOW?_

"I was not eating your hair! I woke up and found it in my mouth; it's not my fault, it's yours!"

"Ugh!" Katara screamed. She stomped out of the tent towards the showers.

"Zuko? You ate Katara's hair?" Teo raised his eyebrow.

He wrenched himself out of tent as well, departing for his bunk to change. He would go to the showers later when there was less of a chance of running into a certain _someone_.

OOOO

Katara found Aang and Toph in the mess hall already eating breakfast. She felt so much better after her steamy 5 minute shower and was actually in a good mood.

"Hey guys! How was the movie?" she asked as she sat down.

"Totally awesome Suagrqueen. We sat behind this couple making out and threw our soda at them." She punched Aang in the arm.

"Their squeals made it completely worthwhile." she howled with laughter.

Aang tried to suppress a grin.

"We shouldn't have done it but well…it was funny. So how was Zuko?" He asked.

"I don't know. He had his good and his bad moments. I woke up to find my hair in his mouth!" she sighed.

"So, he ate your hair?" Toph raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Umm, were you two sleeping next to each other?" she asked.

"Y-yeah."

"Well you certainly are a genius." Toph rolled her sightless eyes.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to." Aang said consolingly.

"You two slept next to each other." Toph giggled.

"Not funny Toph!" Katara glared at her friend as she and Aang tried hard to no bust out laughing. Just then, Sokka joined their table. He hungrily tore into his bacon and eggs.

"How was your night?" Katara asked.

"Good. I got to know this girl….Suki was her name."

Katara smiled.

"That does sound good. Do you know if she likes you?"

"I don't know." His face fell.

"Well, she is my bunkmate…" Katara grinned.

"KATARA! Oh my lovely little sister, did I mention you look ravishing today?" Sokka began bowing to her. She smirked.

"I'll see if I can find anything out." She said nonchalantly. Sokka's grin practically took up his whole face. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was covered by Toph's small hand.

"Let's not start another 'worship Katara' session, ok?" she grumbled.

"Shutting up." Sokka shoveled more food into his mouth.

Katara leaned forward.

"I heard we're having a competition today!" she said.

"When are we going to go swimming?" Sokka asked. Like Katara, he loved the water too.

"They usually do water activities towards the end of the week." She replied.

"That'll be fun. Too bad we can't get in the water now; it's practically a hundred degrees outside!" he fanned himself to make his point.

Toph rolled her eyes.

"Personally, I don't care if we go swimming or not."

"Why?" Katara asked.

"I don't even know how to swim!"

"We could teach you. Or Pakku could give you a floatie." Everyone burst into giggles except Toph.

"What's a floatie?" she frowned.

"Oh, nothing." Sokka said airily.

Toph grabbed the front of his shirt.

"If you don't tell me…."

Her threat was interrupted by Rokku who just entered the hall.

"Good morning. Today is going to be a fun day!" he said.

"We will host the first competition of the week today, which you will complete with your teams. It is a small one, but a competition none the less."

He paused for dramatic effect.

Katara rolled her eyes. On the second day of camp they always did…..

"Relays!" Rokku shouted.

OOOO

**Who will win the relays? And why does Katara throw her lunch at Zuko? Tune in to the next installment of Camp Avatar to find out!**

**And also, review lol. **


	4. A break and the lake

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 4**

**Thanks very much to all my reviewers, especially to my anonymous ones since I can't reply to you. :) **

**Also, thanks a lot to august13 for pointing out my mistakes!!!!**

OOO

"Relays!" Rokku shouted. "This will not only be a running relay though; it is also an obstacle course. Physical strength will be tested, so be warned." He motioned for them to get up and follow him. Katara and her friends walked out the doors.

"Why relays? Why not races?" Sokka asked as they walked around the lake.

"Please, does it LOOK like we know?" Toph punched Sokka in the arm.

"OwOW!" he screamed.

"Very manly." Katara giggled.

"What if there's a rock climbing wall?" Aang asked.

"What, you can't rock climb?" Katara asked.

"Well...it's a challenge."

"Hey, if anyone gets to complain about a rock-climbing wall, it's me." Toph kicked some stones on the path.

"I can't even feel any vibrations. I REALLY feel blind." She admitted. Katara put her hand on her shoulder.

"That's ok. You can talk to Rokku; he's not going to force you to do that part of the relay."

"So there is one!" Aang smacked his face.

"Yep, your team is screwed." Sokka slapped his knee in laughter. Everyone else exchanged glances before coming to a halt at the other side of the lake. There WAS an obstacle course; it started out with tires, a net, a rock-climbing wall, and monkey bars. After that, there was a dirt path leading back to the start line.

_Same old course since my first year_. Katara thought. She walked over to a line drawn in the dirt where the teams were supposed to start and waited for her teammates. They arrived shortly.

"Alright guys, this should be easy." Yue grinned in her gentle way.

"Katara, should I talk to Rokku?" Teo asked.

"That might be a good idea…..unless you want to try to get over the rock wall with your wheelchair." She grinned as he pushed himself over to the camp coordinator. She noticed Toph was talking with him as well.

Suddenly Zuko came up behind her, and she gasped as he startled her.

"Geez, don't creep up on a girl like that!" she shook her head.

"Sorry. Anyway, what are we _doing_?" he looked disdainfully around.

"What do you mean? You heard that we're doing relays; come on."

"No, I mean why are we doing THIS? I haven't played on monkey bars since I was in preschool."

Katara felt a twinge of annoyance. Did he ever see the positive side in _anything_?

"Well, it's just supposed to be fun. Afterwards Rokku lets us swim in the lake for the rest of the afternoon. You can swim, suntan….."

"Thanks for the info." He snapped. She raised an eyebrow. SOMEONE woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

"If you think it's too juvenile you can talk to Rokku." She turned on her heel before she could say anymore and left to go….but where could she go? She turned to look for Teo who was still talking to Rokku. Both of them came over.

"Team Fire; can we have someone go twice in Teo's place?" Rokku asked.

"I can, I guess." Katara volunteered.

"Thank you very much." Rokku walked over to Toph's team where he repeated his statement. Katara saw Aang volunteer to take her place.

"Thanks Katara." Teo looked up at her and grinned.

"No problem."

"Alright team! Line your first person on the dirt line!" Rokku announced.

"Who wants to go first?" Yue asked. Longshot shook his head, indication he probably wouldn't be fast enough. Before anyone could volunteer Zuko stepped up.

"I'll go."

"Let's hope you're in top physical condition." Katara said, half playing.

He just stared at her.

"Runners, take the batons and get up to the start line. Once you complete the course, come back to your teams and hand the baton to the next person, etc. etc. The team to finish first wins!"

The runners went up the line, grasping the silver batons Rokku brought in his pack.

As Zuko crouched low on the line waiting for Rokku's cap gun to go off, he experienced the adrenaline rush that came before a race. He had done track in his freshman year, but that was a while ago. Now he just concentrated on his martial arts, and though he felt confident he could do alright, he didn't want to let his team down. And for some reason; especially not Katara. Even though they had just gotten in a fight that morning, he didn't feel bad about it.

It was too comical that he got busted for 'eating' her hair. It didn't taste too bad…..like girly shampoo.

"Take your mark!" Rokku shouted, before Zuko's mind could probe any further into Katara's hair. His cheeks tinted when he realized he was supposed to be focusing…and not on some girl…no matter how good she smelled.

"Set………!"

The gun went off and Zuko pushed himself off the ground, gaining a flying head start. The tires were coming up; he skillfully threaded his feet in and out of them. He sprinted to over to a net that was a about a foot off the ground. He repeated his foot maneuvers and ran to the rock wall.

But to his dismay, his roommate Jet had caught up with him. And he was GOOD. Jet threw himself up, practically going halfway up the wall as he scrabbled for a good hand-hold. Zuko threw his hands up and climbed up, ignoring the pain spiking in his biceps.

Back at the start line Katara stared. Zuko and some brown-haired guy were neck and neck at the rockwall, and fighting for their positions. She could see their muscles straining.

Not bad…..

Zuko reached the top of the wall, but not before Jet. He jumped off, landing evenly on the ground. He sprang onto the monkey bars throwing himself at each metal rod. He finished at the same time as Jet, and the two took off running back to their teams.

Jet reached his team first and Zuko trailed only a fraction of a second behind. He thrust the baton to Katara who immediately took off sprinting. He took deep breaths before surverying the other teams.

Katara ran the course as she never had before. She just HAD to go fast, she just HAD to ignore the pain….. as she lept off the monkey bars, she saw Aang right next to her.

"Hi Katara!" he screamed before sprinting ahead of her. She suppressed a grin and pushed herself faster. As she reached the start line she quickly handed the baton to Yue.

Yue finished in only mediocre time, but the fire team was doing well. When it was Longshot's turn to go, he surprised everyone with his speed; he seemed to quiet to be sporty.

Katara readied herself for the last round where she would have to go again, trying to keep her adrenaline pumping. They had a good chance to be first, especially with Longshot's amazing skills…..

Suddenly, Longshot threw the baton at her. She hadn't even realized he was back! She sloppily caught it and took off. She could hear the shouts and screams of the various teams as they cheered the runners, and she took it all in. This was just like her swimming meets!

She took the obstacles steadily with gaining glee. She felt extremely confident now. She hurtled off the monkey bars and began running toward her frantic team. She didn't notice anything else as her feet steadily pounded the earth.

But before she knew what was happening, she had stepped into a little crevice in the grass. She put her weight on that foot to push off, only to be greeted by a surge of pain as she collapsed to the ground.

She had rolled her ankle! She tried to get up as one other team member passed her, but found she could not support her weight. She stood up shakily and began hopping toward her team, making sure not to look at any of them.

The other teams easily passed her, but all Katara could think of was the pain in her foot. Just as she was about to collapse again, she felt a strong hand grab her forearm. Looking up, she saw the scarred face of Zuko.

"Here. I'll help you." He gently pulled her up by her arm, and motioned for Longshot to come and help him. He took her other arm and slowly the two boys led her to the lake to go back to the mess hall.

Nodding to his teammates, he steered her back towards the mess hall on the other side of the lake. Katara looked back to see Yue explaining everything to Rokku as he looked at them. Katara quickly averted her eyes and focused her energy on going forward.

"Are you ok?" Longshot asked.

"I just rolled my ankle; I don't think I broke anything." She said. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes as pain sent hot needles all around her ankle.

Zuko didn't exactly know how to react to her tears, so he shut up as they continued to walk around the lake. It was a beautiful glassy blue, and it sparkled in the summer sun.

"I g-guess we came in last." Katara sighed.

"Yeah." Zuko snorted, but was stopped by a glance from Longshot. Katara started crying a little harder.

_I didn't mean to sound mean! She should be happy I'm not more upset!_

But as looked at her tear-filled blue eyes, he felt sorry for her. It wasn't her fault they lost. And he knew he hadn't exactly been kind to her…..

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

Zuko squeezed her arm, surprising himself and Katara. She grinned at him, and he instantly felt better.

As they reached the mess hall they found Iroh sweeping the sidewalk on the outside. He saw Zuko and some other boy helping a young lady down the path. He went up to meet them.

"What has happened here?" he asked.

"She fell and hurt her ankle." Zuko explained. Iroh quickly led them small group into the mess hall and into a room that branched off from it. It was white and covered in health posters that made Zuko grimace. A kindly looking older women sat a desk off in the corner. When she saw the teens approach she quickly got up from her seat.

"Dears, what happened?" she asked, taking Katara from Zuko and Longshot's hands.

"She rolled her ankle." Zuko said. The lady sat Katara down and began to examine her ankle, which had swollen up tremendously.

"Well, it seems like you did. Did you feel anything break or crack?" The woman asked, feeling Katara's ankle expertly.

Katara shook her head.

"Well, there seems to be no major broken bones. You might have jarred the bone out of place quickly, and it could just be a sprain. I'll wrap it, and you can't run for the rest of the week."

Katara groaned at the statement.

"Oh, forgive me dears. My name is Miyuki." The lady apologetically introduced herself before going to the back, presumably to get wrappings.

Katara closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she found both boys gone. She didn't get to say thanks!

Miyuki returned.

"Alright, watch carefully so you can replace your wrappings, which you will have to do every day." She tightly wove the bandages around Katara's ankle, putting enormous pressure on that area. Katara silently began crying again as the pain sent fresh spikes through every fiber in her body.

"Don't worry dear. You'll be ok." Miyuki reassured her as she finished.

"Thank you so much!" Katara said.

"Don't mention it. You were lucky you had those two nice young men to help you!" Miyuki winked and Katara's cheeks tinted.

"Here are some crutches. You might want to talk to Mr. Rokku about not participating in some activities. Good luck!"

Katara got on the crutches and stood up. This was going to be a long week.

OOOO

She went out into the mess hall to find everyone had returned already for lunch. She saw Aang's shiny bald head and went to join him.

_Stupid crutches._ She thought as she made her way toward him. Her armpits ached and she had only been on them for five minutes!

"Katara!" Sokka called. He immediately got up from the table and ran over to help her.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine. It's probably just a sprain." She grinned, trying to assure him that she would be alright. He hugged her when he noticed she had been crying.

"It's ok sis. Say the word and I'll be there to help!" she gently guided her back to their table.

"Hey sweetness. Glad you're back." Toph grinned.

"Katara, what happened?" Aang asked concernedly.

"I rolled my ankle on that stupid obstacle course." She grimaced as Sokka brought her a plate of food.

"Thanks." She dug into the macaroni with her plastic spoon, finding she was ravenous.

"Glad I didn't do that relay." Toph grinned wider.

"Who came in first?" Katara asked through a mouth of mac. Sokka puffed out his chest.

"We did."

"Congrats. How was Suki?"

"She was amazing! So fast and…." He stopped and blushed. Katara and Toph giggled.

"Snoozels is in love!"

"My name is NOT Snoozels, and I am NOT in love!" He snapped.

"Whatever." Aang slapped him on the back in a manly way.

"What do we do now?" Toph asked.

"When we're done eating, we can go to the lake and hang out. It's free time." Katara said.

"I'm going to do that right now." She continued and stood up, taking her hated crutches. "I'll just finish my macaroni outside." She left the hall and headed for her bunk, her mac in hand.

She found Suki inside, already in her green bathing suit.

"Hey Katara!" she ran over to hug her.

"Suki, you don't know HOW MUCH I missed my bunk!" Katara laughed.

"I know. Come on, get changed. We're going for a swim!"

"I wonder if I can…." Katara thought aloud.

"Eh, maybe we shouldn't take any chances on your foot." Suki eyed her bandages.

"Well, you can sunbathe. But come on!" Suki handed her her blue bikini. Katara quickly changed and piled her hair on top of her head before heading out with Suki, who carried their towels, sunblock, and Katara's still unfinished macaroni.

"Song's already out here, I said I'd meet her." Suki said. Katara pumped her crutches fast to keep up with the energetic girl.

They found Song sitting right next to the lake. Suki plopped their towels down on the ground beside her and set up a sunbathing area.

The three immediately put their heads together and began to gossip.

"Katara, who was that hottie on your arm?" Suki giggled.

"Which one?" Katara playfully teased.

"The scarred one." Song said.

"Oh, he's just a guy on my team. He can really be a jerk." She rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, how was Sokka?" Katara gently shoved Suki, who blushed.

"He's really nice, and ….omigod, here he comes now!" Katara quickly looked up to see Sokka and Aang approaching, shirtless. Katara waved her arms.

"Hey Sokka, join us?" she shouted.

He spotted Suki and stopped, falling into a manlier walk. Katara silently guffawed.

"Heya ladies." Sokka said, deepening his voice. Suki grinned at him. Song giggled.

He set his towel down beside Katara's and forced Aang to do the same. He rolled his eyes at Katara, indicating she wasn't the only who found Sokka's new display of masculinity odd.

"What's up Suki?" he asked, leaning towards the girl.

"Not much. Do you want to go for a swim?" she asked standing up.

"I'll race ya!" He jumped up and took off for the water. Suki got there first and immediately dove in. Sokka pouted as she splashed him playfully.

Aang and Song were introducing themselves, and Katara took a look around. Other kids had started coming out, and were laying out towels and spreading sunblock on their faces. She saw one kid with unruly brown hair who had a toothpick sticking out of his mouth. She caught his eye and he grinned slyly at her. She grinned shyly back. He got up and walked toward her, practically blinding her with his toned abs.

"Hey, I'm Jet." He sat down next to her.

"Katara. I've never seen you here before." She said.

"I've been to this camp before, but I've never seen you either." He casually tilted his head back to catch the sun's glowing rays.

"How did you hurt yourself?" he asked, pointing to her ankle.

"Oh, it was at that obstinate….I mean, obstacle course!" she blushed at her slip-up as he smirked. His blinding smile made her feel like putty.

"That's cool. I'm glad we have the rest of the day off; I'm don't think I'm ready for more challenges and stuff."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's just nice to relax." Suddenly, she spotted Zuko coming out of his bunk.

"Oh, excuse me, but I have to talk to someone." She picked up her crutches and walked over to where Zuko was spreading out his towel. Jet grinned at Katara's retreating back.

_Very nice….she sure is hot….._ He thought as he went back to his spot.

Katara sat down next to Zuko, suddenly feeling very self-conscious in her bikini. She wished she had brought a cover-up.

"Hey." She said as she cast her crutches aside.

"Hey." He responded. "Are you feeling better?" He noticed she wasn't crying anymore, which was GOOD.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I just came over to say thanks for helping me earlier. I probably would have had to crawl back if it weren't for you." She grinned.

"No problem." Zuko shrugged. "Oh, hang on a second, I forgot sunscreen. I'll be right back." He quickly got up, and Katara noticed his well-built chest practically shone in the sun.

What are you thinking? He's just some guy…no big deal…pull yourself together!

She relaxed, knowing he would come back. She glanced toward the lake where Sokka and Suki were casually floating and talking. They hit it off perfectly! She almost felt jealous, but reminded herself not to be; someday, she would find someone who was just RIGHT for her…..

She directed her attention to Song and Aang, who were joined by Toph. They were all talking and seemingly getting along. Katara smiled. It was so easy to make friends at camp.

Zuko plopped back down beside her holding a pink container, whose contents he began slathering on his arms.

"You don't like to tan?" Katara asked.

"I never do. No matter how much time I stay in the sun." he almost smiled.

"You're the exact opposite of me then." She joked.

"Are you going to go swimming?" he asked, spreading the cream on his chest. Katara had to use willpower to force herself NOT to look there…..

"A little forgetful?" she pointed to her foot.

"Oh." He started trying to get his back, but couldn't.

"Here, let me help." Zuko felt his face flushing as he realized what she wanted to do…rub the lotion on his back! He gave her a squirt from the bottle and she began slathering it on him. She was pretty red too.

Her small hands traced circles onto his firm back, and he had to hold himself rigid to keep himself from sighing out loud. This must be some sort of torture!

Katara noticed he had muscles on his back too……he must have muscles everywhere, she concluded. His skin felt sooo nice……

She finished and handed the bottle back to him.

"There. I'd say you're pretty well protected now." She joked. He smiled at her this time, and stood up. He offered her a hand and she grabbed her crutches before accepting his offer.

"I'm going to go for a swim. Need help getting anywhere?"

"Nope, thanks. See ya." She quickly went away before he could notice her still-tinted cheeks. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as he dove into the lake. She plopped back down by Toph and began finishing her macaroni she brought out. Song and Aang were in the water.

"Wouldn't Aang and Song make a cute couple?" Katara asked Toph. To her surprise, the girl turned to her with a frown on her face.

"NO. She's too quiet for him." Startled, Katara stuffed her face with macaroni so she didn't have to say anything else.

"Why are you so hot, Sweetness?" Toph leaned toward her.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You're body temperature is like, a thousand degrees higher than normal. Does that have to do with a certain _someone_ you just visited?" she cocked an eyebrow.

"What? NO! Your acute little senses are WRONG." She blushed.

"Right." Toph rolled her sightless eyes.

"Now LISTEN HERE….."

"What does he look like?" Toph interrupted.

"Uh…he black hair, golden eyes, he's tall, he's has ABS, umm…."

"Oh. He sounds cute then." Toph grinned.

"Yeah, I guess." Katara grinned.

"Don't hide your feelings." Toph teased. Katara laughed, at the pure _absurdity_ of the statement.

OOOOOOOOOO

It was practically sundown when Katara packed up her things and headed to her cabin with Suki, who just got out of the water after about four wet, flirty hours.

"Suki, you're crazy." She said, limping along.

"What? Why?" she swung her head to look at Katara.

"Oh, no reason. I thought you and Sokka were so cute out in the water, playing and talking." She grinned as Suki blushed.

"He's a nice guy. Really sweet."

"You can talk to him at the campfire tonight." Katara said suggestively.

"There's a campfire? Geez, you're like a brochure." Suki teased.

"Hey, I've been here a while." She reached the cabin and dumped her crutched on the floor.

"I'm burning these stupid things when I'm done." She growled as she massaged her armpits. They hurt!

"Can you help me get ready?" she asked Suki. "I need help deciding what to wear."

"Oooh, who do you want to look nice for?" Suki giggled.

"No one! I just….feel like it." She sniffed.

Really, she couldn't deny to herself that she felt some attraction to Zuko. She had been thinking about him for most of the afternoon. He wasn't bad looking, and he had helped her so gently when she was hurt……just like prince charming. He was nice too once you looked past that colder exterior. She just didn't know much about him. Well, maybe tonight would change that.

Suddenly, her thoughts turned to Jet. He was cute too….

Her mind flow was interrupted as Suki handed her some clothes she got from Katara's drawers.

"Can I borrow this?" she asked, holding a green hoodie up.

"Yeah, that's fine. Good thinking, I might need a hoodie too." She rummaged through her drawers, finding a white one. She pulled out some jeans and socks out as well.

"What does that say?" Suki asked, turning Katara's hoodie around.

"Oh, it's our swim team hoodie."

"Are you on a club team?"

"Yeah."

"It must have sucked when you couldn't go swimming today." Said Suki as she toweled her short brown hair.

"I didn't really care…it was still fun!" she grinned and began peeling off her bathing suit.

"Are you coming to the showers?" Suki asked.

"Please. I have to get this sunscreen off. I feel so sticky!" They departed.

OOOO

A while later, the sun had completely set. The stars twinkled against the feathery tree tops that dotted the camp sight. A bright bonfire burned next to the glassy lake where the teens had been earlier. Katara breathed in the cooler night air, loving this time of day.

Suki was on her right, looking really cute in her green hoodie and black sweats. Katara had pulled her hair into a short little ponytail, and she had a trace of mascara on her lashes.

Katara was in light-wash jeans with her white hoodie with her hair pulled into a low ponytail.

She really hoped the night would be fun.

OOOOO

**Hey guys, sorry that Katara didn't get to throw her lunch at Zuko…I had that scene originally but decided to change it. Hope its ok!**

**REVIEW!!!!**


	5. The Campfire

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 5**

**I disclaim.**

OOOO

Katara walked on her crutches to the lakeside, enjoying the rapidly cooling night air. The night was very young, and the excitement of a good old campfire hung in the breezy air.

Around the campfire little mats were laid out to form a circle around the blaze. A bucket with marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers was off to the side was next to the air team counselor Jee. He also had a guitar, and looked almost anxious to use it.

Katara saw Jet sitting by Longshot and some….girl….or was it a boy? She pulled Suki over and plopped down next to him, setting her crutches off to the side.

"Hey." She grinned.

"Hey." He replied, toothpick bobbing in his mouth.

"You're here kind of early." She said, adjusting her jean-encased legs.

"Yeah, I only had to take a shower and come over here."

"Oh, I'm sorry, this is my friend Suki." Katara hastily remembered her manners and introduced her friend beside her.

"Hi."

"I'm Jet, and these are my friends Longshot and Smellerbee." The boy motioned to his companions who waved as their names were spoken.

"Cool. I'm going back to get some drinks." Suki stood up, unnoticeably prodding Katara in the back of the head as she stood before walking away.

"So what's up?" Katara asked Jet. She wished Suki had stayed.

"Not much. So, tell me about yourself." He said, casually leaning back on his elbow.

"Well, I swim competitively and I like to draw. What about you?"

"I just like to hang out with my 'Freedom Fighters'."

"Is that a clique?"

"No, not really. It's just my group of friends from the center." Katara was now thoroughly confused.

"Center? What?"

"I live in a center for orphaned teens. My parents died when I was eight in a car crash." As he revealed this, he looked away, hoping to spike the pity factor he was sure Katara would feel.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I had no idea!"

"That's ok."

"My mom died too, in a freak accident." Katara turned away, trying to hide the sadness that still crept into her voice at the mention of her mother, even now, years later.

"I'm so sorry Katara."

"It's ok. I have a necklace from her that I wear everyday." She pulled down the top of her hoodie to reveal a rounded stone on a ribbon tied around her neck. Jet could barely see it in the darkening night, but he was concentrated on her graceful neck anyway.

"That's cool. It's nice to have something to remember your loved ones by."

"Guess so." Katara leaned toward him a little to see if he smelled good. He smelled like hay, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Thankfully, Suki returned with sodas, breaking the awkward moment.

"Here Katara." She tossed her a can, which Katara immediately opened. Other kids had started to come to the fire now, widening the circle. It was noticeably cooler now, and the fire was radiating nice heat. She scooted forward.

Sokka and Aang emerged from the dark. Katara excused herself from Jet and went over to meet them.

"Hey. Where's Toph?"

Aang sat down. "She said she'd be coming. She had to do something, I think."

"I'm hungry. We'd better start making s'mores soon." Sokka was practically drooling as he eyed the bucket next to Jee.

"We have to wait for everyone." Katara smacked his hand, breaking his fervid concentration of the food. She had noticed that a certain Zuko wasn't there yet, which was disappointing, since she wanted to talk to him again.

She then remembered the suntan lotion incident earlier…….

Toph came over and sat down next to her.

"There you are. What were you doing?" Katara asked.

"Na much." The little girl pushed her messy black hair out of her sightless eyes before grinning widely at Katara.

"Ok." She shrugged and turned to the fire, its heat rolling over her in waves. It calmed her greatly, and she relaxed under its influence.

Song emerged from their cabin and sat down next to Aang. They had been talking A LOT since they met at the lake this afternoon…..it was cute. But Toph seemed rather annoyed by this, Katara noticed. Maybe she was just in a bad mood; a common thing with the girl.

Katara's thoughts were broken by the sight of Zuko walking down towards the fire. She waved at him to join her, but he ignored her invitation to sit next to Jet. She felt that something was wrong.

"_Why did he not want to come over?"_

"_Wait a second, why do I care?"_

"_Because, he's a…a friend! Yeah, a friend."_

"_He can be a jerk too, don't forget that. Thoughts OFF his smoking body!" _

Katara finished her mental fight and turned when someone tapped her shoulder.

"What is he doing with her?" Toph inclined her head toward Song and Aang.

"Talking?" Katara said.

"No, they're flirting. Flirting!" Toph glared at nobody in particular.

"How can you tell? You can't even see!" Katara laughed.

"Because I can feel their vibrations." She replied, placing her bare hand on the ground.

"The ground shakes when they laugh even more! They're so obvious." Toph sneered.

Katara's eyes widened.

"You're jealous!" her sudden realization was brought with a rush of surprise.

"No I'm not!" Toph hissed, her cheeks glaring red.

"What did you tell me today? Oh yeah, 'Don't hide your feelings'!" Katara giggled.

"You'd better not say a word, Sugarqueen." Toph stood up and walked over to Sokka, who was tearing into some s'mores.

Katara giggled once more and went to go get a s'more. She found herself right behind Zuko in a line that started at Jee, who was currently holding ten marshmallows over the fire, trying to make the sweet sandwiches as fast as he could.

She wanted to punch him playfully and ask why he didn't come over earlier, but shyness took over, and she remained silent, hoping he wouldn't notice her.

The line continued to move and before she knew it, Zuko was getting his s'more. He was handed it by Jee, but the hot marshmallow drippings found their way onto his hand, and he dropped it all over his sweatshirt. He cursed and turned to see Katara laughing at him.

"What are you laughing at?" he snarled, not caring that he sounded mean.

Katara shut up immediately.

"Oh, sorry. It was just funny when you…….nevermind." she turned her face away and pretended to study the darkness that enclosed the fire.

He shook his head and headed back toward the mess hall to clean himself. Katara picked up a s'more and went back to her friends. As she bit into the sticky sandwich she felt the sweetness run down her throat, and was reminded that this was how summer tasted.

When she was finished, she laid down on her mat and faced the fire, letting her eyelids droop gently as she rested. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

Zuko came back in a fresh sweatshirt and sat down by himself. He liked being outdoors now. The peaceful silence of nature was greatly appreciated by Zuko, and the fire was entrancing.

The flames danced and swirled, casting shadows on the people surrounding the fire.

Zuko looked around at everyone before resting his eyes on the sleeping form of Katara. She looked so peaceful and serene as she rested on her hands; he remembered her watery, graceful laugh from earlier. He couldn't get the sound of it out of his mind; it seemed to be engraved there. He had never before felt this way toward anyone else he had ever met….and it was weird that he felt this way, for he had only known Katara for a few days………….

_Still, it couldn't hurt to fantasize,_ He concluded.

Suddenly, the strumming of a guitar was heard. A ripple went through the teens as they turned to look at the source of the noise, which was Jee. He started up another song, and Katara woke up, blearily blinking her eyes. She jumped into the song, which happened to be a song about a lost bear. She knew the song from her childhood; her mother sometimes sang it to her.

She knew she wasn't a good singer, but that didn't matter. Most everyone was singing and giggling at how everyone else sounded.

"……_And the bear wandered down by the hills, by the hills, _

_As he slowly walked down to the stream……"_

The song was fast, yet slow at the same time. Katara looked over, and saw her friends and brother singing along. She grimaced as Sokka's every-changing voice cracked twice. Suki was on the other side of the fire singing along, but every now and then she would glance over at Sokka.

Katara grinned at this. Suki and Sokka were just _meant_ for each other. They would definitely be together at the dance at the end of the week.

"_Oh gosh, the dance!"_ Katara thought as she stopped singing. She had completely forgotten about it! As she noticed that everyone was still singing she continued, but her mind was NOT on the song.

Zuko wasn't singing. FAR from it. He didn't think his voice was good and anyways, he didn't care. He didn't have to sing like a kindergartner at camp; he was 18 for God's sake! This camp seemed to get more juvenile every minute he was there. So instead of singing, he sat in thought.

After what seemed like hours, the singing stopped and everyone started to get up for bed. Katara picked up her crutches from the ground and limped after Suki, smelling like smoke and chocolate.

"You have a nice voice." Suki said to Katara as she tried to conceal a yawn.

"Really? I'm not very good."

"Oh. I'm so tired."

"Yeah, today was a busy day!" Katara giggled as the swung herself forward on her crutches.

"Actually, you're right…so much happened today! It seems like a week went by!" Suki grinned.

"My foot feels the same way." The girls reached their little bunks and went in. Katara sat down on her bed to change her ankle wrappings.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Sokka came in. Suki shrieked, since she was getting undressed for bed, and dove under her covers.

Sokka blushed.

"I'm so sorry Suki!" he cried as he turned away.

"That's ok." Came Suki's muffled voice. Sokka turned to Katara, holding out his hand.

"What's up?" Katara shot a confused glance at him.

"Zuko said to give this to you." He opened his fist to let Katara see what was in it…

Her necklace!

"Oh my gosh!" Katara grabbed at it before trying to fasten it around her neck. It wouldn't go, and she assumed it must have been broken.

"Apparently it was on the ground by the fire." Sokka said, turning to go out the door quickly so Suki could have some privacy.

"Wait……Zuko found it?" Katara fingered the blue necklace in her palm.

"Yeah. He might have stolen it…" Sokka mused.

Katara rolled her eyes. "You're so paranoid. How would I NOT be able to feel his hands around my neck….."

"Don't talk that way! Forget I said anything!" Sokka opened the door.

"Well when you see him, will you give him a kiss from me?" Katara joked.

"KATARA!"

"Kidding. Now GET OUT." Sokka ran outside.

"Sorry Suki!" Katara laughed as Suki came out from under the bedcovers, clutching her shirt to her chest.

"I thought I was going to have a coronary!" Suki gasped.

The door burst open again, and Suki resumed her hiding position. But Song entered this time, her hair damp from an obvious shower.

"Geez, now you're going to be paranoid." Katara said as Suki reemerged.

"Shut up. I'm getting into my pajamas RIGHT NOW!"

A confused Song shook her head as she got in bed.

"Did you guys have fun?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was cool." Katara said as she finished changing. Her freshly wrapped foot felt better, and she was ready for bed.

"Fun." Suki agreed.

The three girls climbed in bed, exhausted from the long day. But Katara just laid in her bed, clutching her mother's necklace in her palm before falling asleep.

OOOOO

**Alright, you know the drill. Review please, because it helps me SO much when I am writing. You guys keep me going!**

**Also, just in case you were wondering, this story is NOT going to go on forever. I plan to have under 20 chapters, and the whole week will be recorded dutifully. Even the dance! I'm excited for that chapter! **

**There might be a sequel, I'm not sure yet. You know what they say, sequels are always worse then the original……. lol! **

**Thanks for reading this so far,**

**Lady Sayomi**


	6. Flirtations

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 6**

**I just want to give a shout out to Jesse Lin, my faithful reviewer from the beginning. Thanks so much!**

**And to all my other faithful reviewers, I thank you as well.**

**Many cookies to you all!**

OOOOO

Katara woke up early the next morning, took one whiff of her smoky hair, and immediately ran for the showers. Even though the hot water didn't last long, it was always soothing be in water, whether it was swimming or bathing. She set her crutches she still was on outside the stall as she showered.

She hobbled out, wrapping a towel around herself. But someone was coming in…… she quickly tightened the towel and called out "Who's there?"

Zuko came in, holding extra clothes and a towel. Katara almost screamed, but she remembered these showers were for everyone, and they weren't separated from boys and girls like the bunks.

He quickly covered his eyes, dropping his stuff.

"I'm sorry!" he said to a rather embarrassed Katara. In reality, this was a rather _nice_ situation, but Zuko was ashamed at his predicament.

"It's ok. I'll be out of here in two seconds….I just have to change." Katara hopped into one of the bathroom stalls on the opposite side of the showers, forgetting her crutches, and shut the door with a bang, glad that Zuko couldn't see her crimson face.

Zuko patiently waited for Katara to finish so he could get some privacy.

"Oh, I heard you found my necklace. Thanks a lot…I don't know what I would do without it." Katara said over her stall as she pulled on her shorts.

"No problem." Zuko mumbled, wishing she would hurry up.

"It was nice. I can't believe you could see it in the dark!"

Zuko wished she would shut up.

"Yeah. Are you done yet?" He asked impatiently.

"Chill. I'm done." She emerged, toweling her damp hair.

"See ya later." She left, leaving Zuko all alone.

OOOOOO

"And so….yum, this is good……I shoved the s'more in Aang's face, and Jee was all like….'You're in trouble!'" Toph laughed as Sokka was telling his story of how he had to clean up the mess from the campfire because of his and Aang's little excursion.

Katara joined them with her breakfast, somehow balancing her crutches and meal.

"So, you shoved a s'more in Aang's face? Why?" she asked before sitting down and tearing into her bagel.

"Eh, we were pretending to be pigs." Sokka shoveled more food into her face.

"Pretending?" Toph rolled her eyes.

"How can you tell that I eat a lot?" Sokka asked.

"Because, every time you talk I get sprayed with little food pieces!" Toph snorted.

"Sorry." Was Sokka's reply.

Aang joined them.

"Hey guys." His bald little head gleamed in the morning sunlight, accentuating a red mark just below his eye.

"Is that where Sokka creamed you with a s'more?" Katara asked as he dug into his fruit.

"Yep. Sokka forgot that the sandwich was hot." Sokka grinned sheepishly.

"I am friends with some true geniuses." Toph said sarcastically.

"Eh Katara, what are we doing today?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know." She admitted.

A little while later Aunt Wu, the earth team counselor, entered the mess hall where everyone was dining.

"Attention boys and girls. I predict that today is going to be a fun day!" She said in her almost mystical way.

"I swear, she was a fortune-teller in her past life." Toph snorted.

"Today is going to be a quieter time. There will teambuilding activities and after lunch we will take canoes out on the lake!" Wu finished cheerily.

"Okay, everyone group together in your teams. Fire in the corner, earth at this table, air by the nurse and water by the entrance." Everyone got up and formed their little team circles.

Katara hobbled to the corner where Wu pointed around everyone else and set her crutches on the floor. Thank gods her ankle wasn't in pain.

"Okay, these team-building exercises. Everyone must tell one fact about their life that they find interesting, and their teammates must be able to tell everyone's facts to the whole camp when we present. Think of memory techniques to help you remember; the crazier the better!"

A buzz of conversation filled the mess hall as everyone started talking.

"Teo, you go first." Yue instructed.

He hesitated. "Okay, this may sound weird, but I used to have a tail."

Everyone stared.

"It was a little stub, and when my dad tried to have it removed, it damaged my spinal chord. I was half-way paralyzed. That's why I'm in a wheelchair."

"Alright. Teo has a tail. Is that hard for anyone to remember?" Zuko asked sarcastically.

"Stop! Lots of people probably have little tails. It's not that big of a deal." Katara glared at Zuko.

"It wasn't really a tail…..just more like a stub." Teo said thoughtfully.

"Moving on." Yue quickly interjected.

"I have naturally white hair." She continued.

"Really? I thought you might have dyed it!" Katara said.

"Nope. I was born that way, and at first my parents thought I was albino."

"Whoa." Teo said.

Longshot nodded thoughtfully.

"What is it with you people and your birth defects?" Zuko hissed.

"Excuse me, but do you want to explain how you got that scar? Were you born with it? I bet you were, so don't you dare criticize others!" Katara furiously said.

"You know nothing of what is connected to this scar."

"Well please, share!" Katara was practically in hysterics.

Without another word, Zuko stood up and stormed out.

The whole team stared at him as he left, in complete disbelief. Katara turned white and her blue eyes filled with regret as she realized she truly _didn't _know why he had thatscar.

"I'll get him. I should apologize." Katara said as she stood up. She grabbed her crutches that were by her side and swung out the door, ignoring Counselor Wu's frantic demands to get back into the mess hall.

Katara went outside to find that Zuko was no where in sight.

_What if he jumped in the lake?_

_Don't be silly, he wouldn't do that. _

_You made him pretty upset._

_I didn't mean to! He was being a jerk!_

_Is that always your excuse with him?_

Katara shook her head and went around the lake, looking for signs of Zuko. She finally found him on a little wooden dock, dangling his feet in the water.

She approached him cautiously and sat down next to him, resisting the urge to dip her feet in the water, since her ankle-wrappings would get wet.

"Zuko, I'm sorry for what I said back there. It was inconsiderate and rude." She dutifully spilled out her apology.

He stared out across the lake, giving him a pensive expression.

"It's alright."

"Are you upset by what I said?" Katara couldn't resist probing.

"No. It's still hard to let go of memories." Zuko sighed.

"I know what you mean."

Zuko remembered that her mother had died, and knew that she knew his situation.

"If you want to talk about it, I can listen."

"Not today." Zuko turned away from Katara. Her eyes were sending some sort of fiery electricity, and he was afraid that if he looked into them that he would spill all his secrets.

Suddenly, Counselors Wu and Jee found the two teens.

It was then that Katara knew there was to be some punishment involved for their little excursion.

OOOOOO

"Phew! You almost done?" A sweaty Katara asked Zuko, who was presently scrubbing a life jacket with a sponge he found.

Their punishment was to wash out the lifejackets so everyone could go canoeing. Wu and Jee had made it clear that if, and only if, they did a good job, they could still go out on the lake later on.

"Almost." Zuko replied. His brow was furrowed in complete concentration.

"Having a hard time?" Katara teased as she rinsed suds off of another puke orange jacket.

"No. I've just never washed clothes before."

"Well, won't you have to when you go to college?"

"I guess so. Or maybe I could take them to a Laundromat." He almost let a smile play across his lips that time. Katara inwardly resolved to make him smile by the end of the day.

"Nice. Tell me, how does an 18 year old boy not know how to do simple household chores?"

Zuko knew the real reason; his mother had never been around to actually _do_ chores, let alone make him learn to do them.

But that story was for later. He shrugged and picked up another vest to wash. Katara hobbled over to him. She had finally shed her cumbersome crutches, but they lay in easy reach if she felt like she needed them.

"Can I borrow some extra soap?" He handed her the detergent and she went on her business.

"So, how is it that we always end up in trouble together?" Katara asked playfully.

"It's completely your fault." He smirked.

"Yeah right. I don't make fun of people who have tails."

"You have to admit, that was weird." Zuko raised his one eyebrow. The sight was so funny, Katara giggled.

"What?"

"Its just….you only have one eyebrow!" she burst out laughing, though why she found that funny, she didn't even know.

"You filthy little hypocrite." Zuko's smirk returned.

"What?" Katara stopped laughing.

"I don't tease people for having tails." Zuko mimicked in a high voice. Katara splashed some water at him. He flicked some right back. Pretty soon, and all out water fight had erupted.

Katara squirted her liquid soap at Zuko, hitting straight in the head. When she splashed more water at him, his hair filled with soapy suds and bubbles, causing him to look like his head was encased in bubble-wrap.

Zuko got Katara back by dousing her clothing with water. The fight continued in the laundry room where they were supposed to be washing the vests.

When Katara started choking on bubbles, they decided enough was enough. Suds lay gently on the concrete floor, while the vests had gotten dirty again.

"Sorry." Zuko said as Katara continued spitting out soap.

"Me too. We'd better clean all of this up before Wu and Jee come back." The finished up their job in silence, almost as if neither of them wanted to acknowledge what had just happened.

They had _fun_. That was completely and totally unexpected.

And the fun was in a flirtatious way too……….

Katara felt satisfied; she had achieved her inward goal of making Zuko smile. Twice when they were attacking each other she had seen his beautiful grin, and felt elated at the knowledge that she had made that occur.

He really did have a nice smile, she mused. But now the playfulness between the two had vanished, leaving a tension you could cut with a knife. And Katara wasn't exactly sure _what_ kind of tension was between them.

OOOOOO

Zuko finished up his pile of life vests and headed outside, not bothering to wait for Katara. He knew that if he saw her, he would feel giddy again, and that was NOT what he needed right now.

There was now no denying his feelings for the girl. Yes, they still fought, but now, they talked more too. And he felt that everytime he talked to her, a little weight that was brought on by his past tragedy was removed from his heart. She was certainly one of a kind.

Now that he could freely admit these feelings to himself, he would have to try extremely hard not to act on them. This was the problem with his little attraction; (he refused to call it anything more,) it broke through his independent mask he constantly wore! This girl was getting under his skin! Going to his head! Next thing you knew, he would be bringing her flowers and chocolates and cuddling with her on the weekends………

Zuko resolved to put an end to this little "lust".

OOOOOOO

Katara watched as Zuko walked out before she was even done. She thought he could at least have tried to help her finish her pile of vests.

She sighed, and scrubbed the vests with more vigor, trying to get done so she could go canoeing with everyone else. She wondered what else her team was doing the in team-building activity. She would probably never know.

Those useless facts were for nothing! Well, she learned that Teo had a tail……but that was extremely odd.

She wiped her sweaty forehead with her arm, stopping for a second. It was times like these that she really missed being with her friends and brother. Sokka would probably joke the whole way through the washing, making it more bearable. Aang would spout positive wisdom, and Toph would sarcastically belittle everyone who had forced her to wash. They each had their own way of helping the others.

But Katara was by herself, and she was getting more and more lonely.

A while later, she finished, and piled the vests on the wall next to Zuko's immaculate stack. Stopping to redo her hair and try walking gingerly without her crutches, she set out for the lake.

Some teams were just getting into long metal canoes while counselors overlooked their activities.

Katara found her team about to get in a canoe, and she moved quickly to catch up with them. Zuko looked up when she came over, but he barely acknowledged her presence.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Katara asked Yue.

"Not much. We're just going to row leisurely around. I won't be surprised if it's practice for a race or something else that has to do with team-building." Katara nodded in agreement.

"Do you need help with your ankle or anything?" Longshot asked considerately.

"Nah, I'll be fine."

After saying goodbye to Teo, who was staying behind, she gingerly climbed over to edge of the canoe, and seated herself comfortably on one side.

Everyone else climbed in, and grabbed paddles. Katara and Longshot took the lead, and began paddling furiously toward the middle of the lake where other teams were congregating.

Katara could see Toph and Aang in one canoe. Aang was rowing hard, and his bald head shone with sweat. Toph was trying to row, but she couldn't even feel vibrations in the canoe. As a result, she was the reason the earth team's canoe was going in small circles.

Katara's arm muscles groaned from the exertion, but it felt good to use them again. Yue had stopped paddling and was cradling a blister that had suddenly spring up. Zuko and Longshot were rowing just as hard as Katara, and they were sweating in the hot summer sun.

Katara's hair was sticky and hot, and made her feel like she was wearing a parka. She wished she was bald, just like a certain little vegetarian she knew.

After paddling for a while, everyone was visibly tired, even though they wouldn't stop paddling. Yue had completely stopped because her blister was now oozing blood. Luckily the canoe was small, otherwise the other members of the team would never have been able to even row the thing.

Katara saw Jet, and he waved at her. She waved back and blushed before continuing to row. Zuko noticed this, and felt a twinge of annoyance. He started to row harder to take his mind off the subject.

"Zuko, stop! We're going in circles!" Yue screamed as the canoe was being spun around. She and Katara leaned to the other side of the canoe to prevent it from quickly spiraling.

It didn't work.

Instead of stopping to spinning, the canoe rocked violently before tipping over and dumping its riders over the side.

Katara sputtered as she came up to the surface. She wasn't even wearing a life vest! Luckily, she could still swim, but her ankle made it painful. She gasped and tried to spit out the water she had accidentally inhaled.

She saw Zuko surface near to her, and she violently splashed water at him.

"What the heck? What was that all about?" she asked.

"Nothing." He shook his head like a dog shakes out its fur after swimming.

"Nothing? You just tipped us over!" Katara shrieked. The other canoes were starting to come their way, and Katara couldn't be any more embarrassed at her predicament.

"I didn't mean too."

"Will you please explain? I'm tired of your one-word answers!" she screamed. Katara realized she was totally overreacting, but all her pent-up emotions that she had been holding in about Zuko were just coming out. _Uh-oh, better shut up before I say something else_, she thought.

"YOU ARE SO...SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!" she screamed. The canoes had reached them, and Katara felt someone pull her onto their canoe. She glanced up into the face of Sokka looking concernedly at her.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Fine." She muttered.

She glared at Zuko's back as he climbed into another canoe.

OOOOOOO

Katara laid down on her bunk after dinner, not even bothering to wait for Suki and Song to come back to the bunkhouse. She had barely touched her dinner, and wasn't up for conversation.

She was upset, and she didn't know why. Part of her felt sorry for overreacting, especially during dinner when she saw Zuko, as always, sitting alone. But another part of her was angry that Zuko wouldn't open up. She tried so hard, and what did she get? Nothing! He barely talked to her as it was.

And another part of Katara was angry because deep in her heart, she knew she liked Zuko.

No, she didn't LOVE or LUST after him, but still, there was an attraction. And not being able to get mutual feelings back was frustrating.

A little while later, Suki and Song came in. Katara turned on her side and pretended like she was asleep. A little rest and she would feel better, right?

Hours later, she still couldn't fall asleep. She looked at the clock by her bed. 12:04! Midnight! And she was not asleep! She groaned and turned over.

All of the sudden, she heard the door creak open. She quickly sat up.

"Hello?" she whispered. A figure walked in.

"Who are you?"

"Hey." The figure rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"Zuko?" Katara gasped. Suki moaned and turned over, and Katara clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

OOOOOO

**Sorry for the cliffie! Hopefully from here on out Katara and Zuko's relationship will be on smooth sailing.**

**But maybe not.**

**Please review! It is much appreciated. Flames and criticism are accepted, as long as it is constructive.**


	7. Nightmare

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 7**

**Thank you guys so much for the +1000 hits! I am fully excited!**

"Zuko?! Why do you need to talk to me? It's almost midnight!" Katara whisper-yelled.

"I'm sorry, but I just have to."

Katara stopped at his words. They sounded urgent, almost dire. That was NOT like Zuko at all. Warily, she climbed out of her bed, suddenly realizing how inconvenient this time of night was for a talk. She hadn't brushed her teeth in hours, and her boxers and tee shirt made her feel completely exposed.

He nodded his thanks to her, and slunk out of the bunkhouse. She stealthily followed him, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake Suki or Song.

_It feels like we're about to commit a crime_, Katara mused. She stepped into the cool night air, and shivered as a small breeze whirled around her ankles.

Zuko didn't stop walking when they were just outside of the cabin. Katara raised an eyebrow, but he didn't see her, just kept on going.

As they walked, Katara once again felt the tension in the air. They walked side by side, but they didn't even try to talk.

An owl hooted in the distant woods, and Katara jumped and backed into Zuko. He grunted and pushed her aside as she adjusted herself.

Finally, they were at the edge of the woods, and Zuko stopped. He knew how odd this was; him, dragging a girl to the woods in the middle of the night at summer camp……….

"Look, I need to talk to you." He said, trying to keep the harshness out of his voice.

"I kinda figured that out already." Katara replied.

"I know we haven't been on the best terms lately…" he stopped as Katara snorted and glared, waiting for her to let him continue.

"Sorry."

"I just want to let you know that…..Idon'twanttolikeyouanymore." He chocked as the words just came out of his mouth. This was not what he planned to say!

What happened to his rehearsed speech about setting down their verbal insults and trying to achieve levels of comradery?

It went down the toilet.

"Did……did you just say what I think you said?" Katara's voice trembled as she spoke at the realization of his rushed words. What had he said?

Oh yeah, "I don't want to like you anymore". _Anymore_???

"No, NO! I didn't mean to say that……!" he tried quickly to redeem himself, but couldn't find a convincing excuse for his rampant tongue.

"Zuko, it's ok…."

"Forget what I said!" he slapped his hand to his face, turning red.

"Zuko…."

"I said, FORGET IT!" he roared. A small hand clamped down on his mouth. He immediately stopped.

"Will you listen to me? First of all, shut up! Do you want the whole camp to know we're out here? What do you think they will think?"

"Secondly, I've been trying to tell you that……." She cleared her throat and blushed.

"I think I like you too." She removed her hand from his mouth. Zuko's mouth fell open as he stared at Katara, who suddenly looked VERY different in the moonlight.

"Wha……?" he stopped, at a loss for words. Katara shook her head.

"I shouldn't have told you. But I had to get it off my chest." She averted her eyes from his face and turned to go.

"Wait." He grabbed her shoulder.

"I brought you here to tell you that even though I like you, I don't want to. I want to end this right here." Her eyes widened.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Not like that!" he angrily added.

"I want to stop talking to you. Every time I do, something……happens." He blushed again at the awkwardness of his words.

"Oh god. Zuko!" Katara practically screamed.

"NO!!!!!!!!! EVERYTHING IS COMING OUT WRONG!" he raged right back.

"What did you think that was going to sound like?" Katara replied. Zuko was about to argue back when a light came on in the distance. It was coming from the counselor's cabin!

"Please. We both need to go. I just want to say that I'm going to try to not…..like you anymore. It's too complicated." Katara nodded at Zuko's words, silently wishing that they didn't have to let go of their feelings. Zuko was adorable in the moonlight…….

The counselor's cabin door opened, and Katara and Zuko turned toward the light.

"Oh no. We can't go back to our cabins!" Katara hissed.

"I know, I know. I'm working on that little problem!" Zuko hissed back.

They saw a tiny person come out of the cabin, carrying a flashlight. It was Jee! Quickly, Zuko grabbed Katara's hand and started running with her into the woods.

Katara immediately gasped in pain as her ankle was spurred into unwanted motions. Even though she had shed the wrappings after dinner, hoping they would be ok, her ankle still hurt, and Zuko practically dragging her through the woods was very painful.

"Zuko, stop! Please, my ankle!" she cried.

"We can't stop. If Jee finds us…it will be bad."

"Zuko!" she started crying. Bewildered, he let go of her hand.

"YOU DUMBASS! This is completely your fault! If you hadn't forced me to come out here and go for a run in the woods, we wouldn't be in this situation. LET ME GO!" she screamed. She wrenched her arm from his grip and took off in the night, going in the opposite direction.

"No!" he whispered. Still, he kept on running, afraid to stop.

Actually, the situation had turned out better then he thought. Now she definitely wouldn't like him, and he would feel _nothing_ towards her.

OOOOOO

Katara stopped just on the edge of the forest. Gasping from fresh pain and her tears, she fell on the ground.

She crawled to the edge and glanced out. The light was out; Jee must have gone back to his cabin. Katara stood up and walked back around the lake to her cabin, making sure to go extra quietly by Jee's cabin. She had just about made it when his door flung open.

Jee grabbed her arm and pulled her forward so he could see her better.

"So you're the little vandal who's been sneaking out……Katara?" his sentence at first was spiteful, but then this tone changed to surprise.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

OOOOOOOOOO

Zuko snuck around the side of camp that was farther away from Jee's cabin. He made it back to his bunk and collapsed on his bed, weak and weary.

He had acted very rashly, there was no denying that. His uncle always said that he never thought many things through. He hoped that Katara had made it back to her cabin all right……and that nothing had happened to her.

Why did he feel so idiotic for trying to convince himself that he didn't like Katara? The question kept appearing in Zuko's weary mind as he tossed and turned and waited for sleep to come to him.

OOOOO

The next morning Zuko got up before Jet and Haru and took a shower, then departed for the mess hall. He ate his breakfast alone, as always, and waited for someone to come and announce the day's activities. Rokku walked in waited for everyone to quiet for him to begin his announcement.

"It seems as though there have been some people who are taking advantage of this camp." Rokku began.

_Oh. No._ was Zuko's first thought.

"There was a serious problem last night when a student snuck out of bed and thought a little romp in the woods would be fun!" he said fun like normal people would say "vomit".

"So, while the counselors and I try to deal with the situation, you all will have a free day on the lake. Dismissed."

Zuko felt his face turning redder and redder. This was all his fault! Katara didn't deserve to be blamed for something he forced her to do……..

He forcefully got up and walked outside, pondering what to do.

In the meantime, Sokka, Aang, and Toph were all sitting by the lake, dumbfounded. When Katara hadn't shown up in the mess hall that morning, they were sure she had overslept, but after Rokku's announcement, it was clear where she was.

"It's just not like her!" Sokka repeated for the billionth time.

"I mean, I've known her forever, and she wouldn't just sneak out without cause!" he finished.

"I know. Why would she leave?" Aang asked, staring out over the lake.

"Personally, I think everyone is blowing this out of proportion. It isn't that big of a deal." Toph said.

"Come on, the poor girl just went for a walk in the woods!" she finished.

"Yeah…..was there something they didn't tell us about?" Aang asked. Sokka's eyes grew as round as saucers.

"We have to go talk to her!" The gang jumped up, but then realized they didn't know where Katara was.

"She might be in the nurse……because of her ankle." Toph inferred.

"You're right." They took off into the mess hall towards the nurse's office. Sure enough, they found Katara in the small room, resting on a tiny cot. She quickly sat up as they walked in.

"Hey guys." She said, trying to smile but failing.

"Katara, what happened?" Aang asked with concern in his eyes.

"What are they going to do to you?" Sokka asked.

"Guys! Please, let Katara explain. You're being rude." Toph punched Sokka in the arm.

"Oh really, miss….." Sokka started to retort but was stopped short by Aang covering his mouth with his hand.

"Shut. Up." Aang glared at the other two.

They all turned to Katara to listen to her story.

She took a breath and began to talk.

"I snuck out to meet this guy because he said he wanted to talk……which we did, and as we came back, Jee caught me."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Aang said kindly.

"WHAT? You snuck out to talk to a guy?!?!" Sokka made air quotes as he said the word "talk".

Katara ignored his comment.

"They're talking about sending me home early." She said as tears filled her eyes.

"WHAT?" the whole gang screamed in unison.

"It's not just this incident…..I've gotten in trouble quite a few times this week." She began sobbing, and Aang and Toph put their arms around her comfortingly.

"We know you Sugarqueen. You would never do something bad on purpose." Toph said.

"Agreed. It's going to be ok!" Aang confidently grinned. Katara started crying harder, her emotions violently clashing. On one hand, she might be expelled from the camp she loved so much. On the other hand, she had the best friends in the world.

"So, who did you talk to?" Sokka tried to ask nonchalantly.

"No one." Katara avoided his eyes.

"Seriously!" Sokka said, raising his voice.

"Drop it, Snoozels." Toph sent him a glare that promised him a quick ticket to hell, but it was aimed in the wrong direction, so he missed it.

"I just want to find the guy and beat the shit out of him!" Sokka whined.

Katara giggled for the first time all day.

"That doesn't sound too bad actually." She said, wiping her eyes. She gathered everyone around for a big group hug.

"Thanks." Was all she said. And it was all that was needed.

OOOOOOO

Katara had lain down again later and was trying to catch up on her rest. After all, she missed a LOT the previous night.

She was now determined to never even talk to Zuko ever again. The thoughtless bastard was dead to her, or so she tried to convince herself.

Katara was having the worst time trying to make Zuko into a faceless villain whom she could easily hate. But when she tried, she failed miserably.

When she tried to think of how Zuko had dragged her out into the night, all she thought of was the feeling of his hand in hers, guiding her in darkness.

When she tried to think of how Zuko tipped over their canoe, all she could think of was him in swim trunks. Topless. Hot!

When she tried to think of how Zuko had left some vests for her to wash, all she remembered was their wonderfully fun soap fight, and how he had smiled at her.

Katara mentally screamed as she brought out many images and thoughts. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hate him. She couldn't even deny her attraction for him!

She tossed and turned on her little cot, trying to forget everything in sleep.

Even though she was still in the nurse's office, the small space now felt more then ever like a binding prison, caging her thoughts and constantly bringing them forward to torture her.

Great. Now she was going insane.

Suddenly, Rokku walked in gravely. Katara quickly sat up to greet the elderly counselor.

"Hello Miss Katara." He nodded in her direction. She acknowledged him with a similar nod.

"We have reviewed your records from this camp. You have a good record; I couldn't see any other major incidents in the past. And you have been at this camp for a while."

"Yes sir." Katara nodded.

"So, myself and the other counselors are allowing you to stay at camp for the remainder of the week."

Katara gasped in shock. She had been sure they were going to send her home!

"Thank you sir!" she cried. She could feel happy tears forming as she thought of the wonderful times ahead.

"You are welcome." Rokku bowed his head slightly and made his exit, leaving Katara in shock on the bed.

OOOOOOO

She later left the nurse's office and went to her cabin. She limped slightly as her new ankle wrappings were tight. She pushed on the handle of her door and went inside. She found Suki and Song on Suki's bed, in deep conversation. When they saw her, they jumped up.

"Katara! You're back!" Suki screamed as she fiercely hugged her friend. Song joined in the hug.

"We thought you might get sent home. They're so strict about those things." Song said.

"Well, they looked at my record, and it showed that I was a good little girl." Katara grinned as her friends released her.

"Come on. Song and I took some extra food from the kitchens. Some man named Iroh gave them to us." Suki sat back down on the bed, showing Katara the Oreos and Doritos they had taken.

"Junk-food binge?" Katara asked. Song and Suki grinned.

"Heck yes." Song and Katara joined Suki on the bed, staying up late into the night.

OOOOO

**Alright guys, hope this chapter was good. Review and tell me!**

**Sayomi**


	8. Fashionista

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 8**

**Previously on Camp Avatar:**

"_Zuko?! Why do you need to talk to me? It's almost midnight!" Katara whisper-yelled._

"_So you're the little vandal who's been sneaking out……Katara?" Jee's sentence was at first spiteful, but then this tone changed to surprise._

"_They're talking about sending me home early." Katara said as tears filled her eyes._

"_Myself and the other counselors are allowing you to stay at camp for the remainder of the week." Rokku said before walking out, leaving a stunned and relieved Katara. _

OOOOO

The next morning, no sun kissed the camp. Instead, dark storm clouds moved in quickly and threatened to unleash bad weather as the teens in the camp woke up. Katara woke up, and taking one look at the sky out the window, decided that she never wanted to get up. It was just going to be one of those crappy days.

Last night had been fun, but as Katara got ready for the day she could feel the affects of her sleepover with Suki and Song. Her stomach ached from eating so many chips and candies, and there was a pressure behind her eyes that made her just want to close her heavy lids and drift into sleep.

After taking a shower Katara quickly went to the cafeteria. The ominous clouds overhead had gotten bigger and darker, and she was sure there was going to be a huge storm. She located her friends and after grabbing some breakfast, sat down with them.

"Hey Katara." Aang grinned and made a spot for her next to him.

"It's going to be a bad day." Katara said as she dug into her pancakes.

"Those storm clouds looked freaky!" Sokka said.

"Wait, I thought you said they looked like giant friendly mushrooms." Toph raised a brow at Sokka.

"No, I most certainly did not!" he said indignantly.

Just then, Song came over and joined the gang, sitting on another spot next to Aang.

"Hey guys." she said.

Toph scowled, but only Katara noticed.

"Hey Song. How are you?" Aang flashed a huge grin at her, which she happily returned.

"Pretty good. I can't believe we only have two days left at camp!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, and tomorrow is the big camp dance." Katara said pointedly to Aang.

"I'm excited for that. It will totally be fun." Song said.

"Yes, oh so fun." Toph grumbled. Katara kicked her underneath the table, reminding her to keep her cool.

"Who are you going to ask to the dance?" Song asked Sokka. He blushed.

"I might ask Suki….but don't tell her, ok?" he sputtered.

"My lips are sealed." She gave a wave to Katara and Aang before taking off to visit some other friends.

"She's going to tell her." Sokka hung his head.

"What are you ashamed of? We talked about you last night." Katara said grinning.

"WHAT? What did you say?" Sokka practically screamed, smacking his palms on the table. Katara grinned again, knowing how she could now hold this over Sokka's head.

"Heh heh, I'm not going to tell you unless you work for the info." She folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"I'll do anything!" he cried, desperate to see what Suki said about him.

"I'll think about this and get back to you later." She high-fived Toph and Aang while Sokka looked like he was about to cry.

Suddenly, lightning raced across the sky, followed by a huge boom of thunder. Everyone gasped. Rokku and some other counselors quickly came into the room.

"Everyone please remain calm; there is a big storm headed this way, and we need everyone's undivided attention so that no one gets hurt." Everyone burst out talking at once, and Rokku tried and failed to get everyone's attention once more.

"PLEASE!" everyone shut up.

"Thank you. Now, because of the bad weather, we will cancel all outdoor activities that we had planned for today." Everyone groaned at the thought of being stuck indoors for the whole day.

"Instead we will have a regulated team activity in here. Please meet with your teams and counselors to discuss and plan the activity. The counselors will tell you what it is." Everyone quickly went into their teams. Katara purposely sat far away from Zuko as her team got in a circle. A random counselor named Oyaji came up to their seated group.

"Hello! My name is Oyaji, and I will be your counselor…." He was cut off by a huge boom of thunder.

"Anyways, today we are going to host a fashion show. We have materials over here, and this will be a team competition. The judges are the counselors, and you have until 3 to come up with two costumes. Good luck!" With a wave, he turned and walked to another team to repeat his message.

Katara, Teo, and Yue squealed. A fashion show would be awesome! But Zuko and Longshot were completely silent, preferring to get this show done and out of the way. Yue practically ran over to a big box of materials that had just been placed in the hall, and began pulling out laces, beads, and fabrics. With her arms full, she ran back and splayed her materials out for the rest of the group to see.

"Alright, can I take charge?" Yue asked. Everyone nodded.

"Good. Now, we're going to have a boy and a girl model."

"Ooh, ooh, can I be one?" Teo asked.

"Sorry, but since you're in a wheelchair, it might be hard to fit you for clothes."

"Zuko, be a model!" Katara pleaded.

"Only if you're one too." He smirked. Katara blushed and nodded.

"Perfect. Now, what theme should we do?" Yue asked.

"A theme?" Teo scratched his head, confused.

"Let's look at the fabrics and see what we can do." Yue replied.

"You pulled out all the sparkly fabric!" Zuko stared in horror at the sparkles.

"And the lace." Katara stared grimly over the fabric, trying hard to block out the images of Zuko in lace and sparkles.

Zuko was doing the same, except he wasn't trying to block out the images of Katara in lace.

_No, just let go!_ They both thought.

"Well, we could do a circus theme." Teo said.

"Or a showgirl theme!" Yue squealed.

"Whoa. Showgirl?" Zuko snapped.

"That would be hot." Katara grinned wickedly.

"I say we go for showgirl." Everyone nodded.

"Who can sew?" Katara asked. Longshot nodded, silently telling them he could.

"Alright, now plans. Katara needs a skirt and a top, and Zuko needs pants…..oh, he can be shirtless. Let's not waste anything." Yue brainstormed furiously.

"That sounds good." Teo nodded.

"Katara, what color do you want your shirt to be? Sparkly blue or sparkly red?"

"Well, we are the fire team…how about red for both of us?" Katara suggested.

"Great idea." Yue commended.

"Ok, it will be a sleeveless red vest."

"Please keep it PG." Teo interjected. Everyone silently rolled their eyes.

"Your skirt…..how about a little wrap skirt? That way we don't have to sew anything." Katara nodded.

"Alright, Zuko, you will have sparkly red pants, and I'll have someone make you a bowtie. You guys are going to look so cute together!" Katara blushed at Yue's words.

"Ok fire team. Let's go to work!" Yue yelled. Everyone began scrambling around, trying to help Longshot sew as fast as he could. Katara began hunting for accessories, and left to go to her cabin to continue her search.

Yue ordered everyone around, especially Teo, who helped measure fabric.

And Zuko just sat there, staring in horror at the rapid progress of his sparkly red pants.

In her cabin, Katara managed to find a pair of heels, stolen from Suki, gods only knew why she needed heels at camp, a sparkly hair clip, and TONS of makeup. She quickly brought everything back to her friends.

Her skirt was nearly finished at this time, since it was extremely simple. All Longshot needed to do was sew a small piece of Velcro on one side of the thing to hold it in place, and she was good. The top was harder, but Longshot proved himself a capable sewer already.

Yue was currently trying her best to sew pants, and they weren't turning out so bad.

"Here's some extra stuff. Sorry, I couldn't find a bowtie." Katara grinned at Zuko, who was about to return the smile when he remembered his promise to let her go. He quickly turned his head.

Katara also remembered her promise to let _him_ go, and awkwardly cleared her throat.

"I…I'll go find some more stuff." She hastily walked out of the hall, noticing the other teams as she passed.

Of all the people, she noticed Sokka measuring Suki, holding a tape measure against her hips. She was blushing and Katara could tell Sokka was trying very hard to keep himself in check. She grinned at their cute display.

Zuko watched Katara walk out.

_That was close, keep it together!_ He reminded himself.

_But I don't want to._

_Just shut up._

OOOOO

A while later, the outfits were completed. Zuko's pants looked a little misshapen, and Katara's top ended up being tiny, but all in all everyone was proud of their work. Longshot especially looked pleased.

"You were probably a designer in your past life." Teo said.

Zuko and Katara came back from trying their outfits on, and looked at each other.

"Whoa, who knew sparkles were a good look for you?" Katara asked.

"I could say the same about your slutty ensemble." Zuko hissed, his face reddening to match his pants.

"Bring it on, Sparkles." Katara narrowed her eyes.

"Just tone it down in public; you'll scar the little kids."

Katara turned away just as the fire team thought she was going to explode and stalked off to do her hair.

_Nice one_, Zuko's inner voice commended him.

But somehow, he felt a twinge of remorse for calling Katara a slut.

"Alright, we have to slick back your hair." Yue came up to Zuko and began massaging gel into his hair.

"What? I am already wearing sparkles, and I am shirtless; and still you insist on torturing me?"

"Geez, angst much?" Teo asked.

"You want to say that again?" Zuko whirled around to face the boy in the wheelchair.

"N-no, not really." Teo shrank even lower into his chair.

"Good." Yue finished gelling Zuko's hair, and now Zuko completely resembled a 70's pimp.

Spectacular.

Katara came out all ready and made up, and sat down with her team to wait for the show to begin. Soon enough, it happened.

Counselor Wu waited for all the teams to finish before coming into the center of the hall.

"Attention! We will now begin the fashion show!" she explained.

"First up, team earth." Katara watched as Aang and Toph's team came up front and center.

"Our model Toph is wearing a Greek goddess-like dress that is made of….a bed sheet. Oh well, she looks fabulous anyways." Katara rolled her eyes toward Yue to show that Wu's impersonation of a fashion reporter was NOT cool.

"And here is our next model Aang, also in Grecian fashion. He appears to be wearing…..underwear also made from a towel." The crowd whistled as Aang strutted down the center of the hall. Katara laughed out loud at her friend.

"Thank you earth team!" Everyone burst into applause as the Earth team high-fived each other.

"Next up, the water team!" Suki and some other girl Katara had never seen got up as models.

"Their theme appears to be under the sea…and here comes Suki in a shimmering dress. I guess it is made to resemble a mermaid. Nice job!" Suki finished her walk and sat down next to Sokka, who high-fived her.

As the contest went on, Katara felt herself getting nervous at the thought of walking in front of the entire camp in the costume she was in. The familiar flutters of stage fright resided in her stomach.

"Zuko, I don't want to do this anymore!" Katara whispered as Aunt Wu showed off the air team's creations.

"Trust me, I never wanted to do this. At least you're not shirtless. I feel emasculated." He hissed in reply.

"That still makes me nervous!"

"Quit worrying." Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Thank you air team! Last but certainly not least is the fire team! Come on up models!" Katara widened her eyes, and struggled to get up to the front of the room with Zuko. She heard whistles and catcalls.

"And they seem to be using an…….entertainer theme!" Wu gave them a sideways glance before starting up her commentary again.

When Katara felt sure she should be walking she started forward, the butterflies in her stomach raging. Just as she thought she was about to puke, a hand grabbed hers. She turned to see Zuko holding her hand.

"Play along." He whispered.

She nodded, and he pulled her into his arms bridal style. He then continued walking towards the center of the room with Katara in his arms.

Everyone laughed at his antics, and more whistles ensued. All Katara could do was blush and hold on to his neck.

Zuko stopped to show off Longshot's creations, but Katara couldn't hear Wu talking anymore. All her senses were tuned in to Zuko; his smell, his touch…..he was carrying her like she weighed nothing!

In that moment, Zuko looked down and smiled at her.

And then she knew it would now be impossible for her to give him up. She gave him a peck on the lower jaw before he set her down. Amazed, he turned to look at her, but she was already walking to the side of the hall.

Everyone cheered, except Sokka, who stared at Katara as though she were a donkey who had grown three heads. Suki winked at Katara, who furiously blushed. Jet scowled, but no one seemed to notice.

"Thank you teams! You did a wonderful job entertaining everyone during this period of horrible weather. You may now have the rest of the day off; just please stay indoors."

Everyone got up and began to get in small groups and talk. Katara immediately went over to Zuko.

"I'm sorry I kissed you…..it's just……" she struggled to find words.

He waited patiently.

"Ok, I admit it. I can't stop liking you. I know this is forward, and this is kind of awkward…" Katara rubbed her burning neck as she looked away.

"Katara, will you go to the dance with me tomorrow?"

"What?" Katara stared at him, and wondered if she had heard him right. That was just a little random…..

"You heard me. Now, will you or not?" he folded his arms and waited for her answer.

"Of course!" Katara grinned. "I've never been asked to this dance before…." She grinned. "It's a date."

"Thanks." Zuko nonchalantly said, inwardly rejoicing at the fact that she didn't turn him down.

"Ok, cool. Um, bye!" Katara practically ran over to her friends, her face more flushed then before.

Zuko watched her go, still rejoicing. His senses still tingled as he remembered how light she felt in his arms, and the feel of her lips on his jawbone that sent shivers up his back. Not to mention how she looked in her current outfit……

_Great, now I'm developing a fetish for sparkles. This girl can't be good for me._ Zuko inwardly admitted.

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting night.

OOOOO

**Alright guys, tell me how I'm doing!**

**Yay! They're together! Finally, I was having SO much trouble keeping them apart. **


	9. Dance Complications

Camp Avatar: Chapter 9

Previously, on Camp Avatar:

"_Katara, will you go to the dance with me tomorrow?" Zuko asked._

Great, now I'm developing a fetish for sparkles. This girl can't be good for me, _Zuko inwardly admitted. _

OOOOOO

As Katara helped herself to dinner, she couldn't stop blushing. She still hadn't changed out of her costume; it was storming too hard to go to her cabin and get fresh clothes. So she heaped upon her plate mashed potatoes and chicken, and sat down in her glitzy little sparkly tank top and skirt.

"I wish you would take that off." Sokka grumbled as she sat down.

"You want to go and get some clean clothes for me? Here's the room key." Katara dangled her bunk key in front of his face. A grin spread across his features as he grabbed the key and made for the door.

"Hey boy! You might not want to go out in that storm!" one of the counselors called, but to no avail. Sokka pushed open to mess hall doors to show everyone in the room just how hard it was raining outside. Instead of letting that deter him, he stepped out and disappeared into the rain.

"Smart, Katara. He'll be going through Suki's stuff with that room key." Toph snorted. Katara's eyes widened.

"Oh gosh, I didn't think of that!" Aang and Toph giggled.

"Shut up. Maybe he won't. He's just going to get my clothes!"

"Once again; smart." Toph and Aang started laughing harder. Katara glared at them through mouthfuls of food.

A huge clap of thunder resounded through the hall and it fell completely silent.

"This is bad." Aang gulped.

"This storm hasn't let up all day!" Toph exclaimed.

"You don't sound scared." Katara said.

"Storms never really bothered me." The blind girl shrugged.

"Lucky." Aang stared gloomily out the windows.

"Hey Aang, did you ask Song to the dance yet?" Katara asked, staring straight at Toph, silently begging her to get a move on asking him.

"No, but I might tonight."

"Ow!" Toph jumped as her leg was kicked underneath the table. Katara grinned sweetly at her before remembering she couldn't even see it.

"Well, you should ask somebody soon. I already got asked." Katara grinned at the memory.

"Ooh, by who?" Aang widened his eyes.

"Zuko." Katara's grin widened.

"What? That jerk who tipped over your canoe? Who got in all those fights with you?" Toph started laughing.

"That's…unexpected?" Aang searched for the right word.

"You could at least be a little supportive. He's gotten better."

"Oh yeah." Toph and Aang exchanged a look.

"Come on guys. At least I have a date." Katara purposefully nudged Toph under the table so she would get the hint.

"All right, all right, I get it." Toph sighed, and her cheeks darkened.

"Twinkletoes, can I talk to you?" She stood up, and offered a hand to Aang.

"Sure." He took it and they began to walk away.

Katara grinned. They would be going out in no time, of that she was sure.

Just then, Sokka came barging back in through the mess hall doors, clutching some clothes.

"Aha! I got them!" he raced over to Katara who wrinkled her nose.

"You're soaking wet." She took the clothes from him and got up.

"That storm is not letting up!" he shook his head.

"You gonna finish that?" he asked, pointing to Katara's almost empty plate.

"Nah, you can have it." She watched as Sokka dug into her food, still dripping wet.

"So, find anything interesting of Suki's?" Katara nonchalantly asked.

"Huh? Of course not!" Sokka looked at her with wide eyes.

"So, you don't deny you looked through her stuff?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"What? I didn't go through anything! Where did you get that idea?" he tried to play it off, but his red face was totally betraying his lie.

"Perv." Katara laughed. Sokka was about to deny this again when Jet came over and sat next to Katara.

"Hey Katara." He grinned.

"Hey Jet. What's up?" she asked.

"Not much. It's a very stormy night tonight. Not good weather."

_Oh boy, the awkward weather conversation_. Katara thought.

"Agreed. I've never seen a storm like this, ever." She confirmed.

"I heard Rokku talking about postponing the dance." He said. Katara looked at him questioningly.

"Why would they do that? We don't dance outside." He shrugged. (But in reality, Jet was just trying to say something to bring up the dance topic.)

"So, are you going with anyone?" he asked casually.

"Yep. You?"

"WHAT? WHO ARE YOU GOING WITH?" Jet jumped out of his seat and practically yelled his words. The mess hall fell quiet as everyone turned to stare at them.

"Uh Jet, can we talk somewhere else?" she whispered. He blushed, and followed her as she walked to a remoter corner of the mess hall. Zuko glared at them from across the room.

"I'm going with Zuko. Why do you care?" she whispered, trying her hardest to be polite.

"It's just that…..I wanted to ask you." He mumbled.

"Oh. Well, I don't know what to say." Katara was shocked. She really hadn't known Jet for that long……had he really developed a crush on her?

"Will you at least save one dance for me?" he asked, trying not to sound totally crushed.

She grinned. "Why not. I don't think Zuko will mind." She turned to go.

"I'm sure he will." Jet mumbled.

"Jet. Please." Katara quickly walked away before anything else could happen. Quickly returning to her table, and trying to ignore the stares she was getting as she crossed the room, she sat down once again beside Sokka, only to find that Aang and Toph were sitting across from them with big, goofy grins on their faces.

"What's wrong with you two?" she asked, knowing FULL well what was "wrong".

"Nothing." They both chimed in. Katara just laughed.

OOOOOO

"Due to safety concerns recently voiced by the faculty, we will have to address this 'storm' issue that's at hand." Rokku said as he addressed the whole hall. It was about an hour after dinner, and the storm still hadn't let up. In fact, it was going stronger then ever.

"We have come to the conclusion that we should just have everyone sleep here in the mess hall. We have extra sleeping bags, and we hope this won't inconvience anyone." He tilted his head, as if waiting to hear objections.

"Also, I have heard some concerns about the dance tomorrow night. It will continue as normal. Are there any questions about it?" he asked.

Yue raised her hand. "I heard that the dance isn't held at camp. Is that true?"

"Yes. We always have it at Ba Sing Se Hall."

"No more questions? Good. The counselors will work on getting everything set up so you can sleep here." He turned and walked away.

"This should be loads of fun." Sokka rolled his eyes.

"You'll get to sleep next to Suki!" Katara said, gently teasing.

"I wasn't being sarcastic." He said.

"Right." Katara rolled her eyes as Zuko walked over. He sat down next to her.

"Can you believe this storm?" he asked.

"Nah, not really. It's not that big of a deal. You've experienced storms growing up, right?"

"Actually, no. There aren't really storms where I live." He glanced at the dark windows.

"That's odd. Are you scared?" she asked, leaning closer to him.

"Maybe." He grinned devilishly and put his arm around her. The small action surprised her immensely, and she felt as though sparks were going haywire around her shoulders. She grinned and leaned closer to him, just enjoying his touch.

Even though he had just asked her to the dance, it seemed like they were already going out or something. It was a nice feeling. It was amazing to think that earlier this week, he was the jackass who tormented her to no end!

As she leaned against Zuko, she was suddenly very glad that they were all sleeping together tonight.

OOOO

**Alright guys, the fate of this story has been decided. There will be a chapter about this night, a chapter about the dance, and maybe a shortie right before the dance. Depends. So only 2 or 3 left. Isn't that sad?**

**A HUGE shout-out to ****Jesse Lin**** who helped me with my writer's block. You're the best!!!!!**


	10. Dance Complications Cont

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 10**

Previously, on Camp Avatar:

"_We have come to the conclusion to just have everyone sleep here, due to the increasing severity of this storm." Rokku said. _

_Jet tried to ask Katara to the dance, but she turned him down. He was VERY upset. _

"_That's odd. Are you scared?" Katara asked, leaning closer to Zuko._

"_Maybe." He grinned devilishly and put his arm around her._

OOOO

As the teens got ready for bed, a long line had formed outside the restrooms for sanitary reasons. Katara finished brushing her teeth and washing her face and came out to find blue sleeping bags scattered all over the mess hall floor. The tables that usually were in the middle were pushed to the sides, giving the feeling of a fort, like children make when they are small.

Katara chose a sleeping bag and sat down on it, waiting for her friends to get done so they could join her.

Toph came out first and Katara called her over, pulling a sleeping bag over for her.

"So, how did you ask Aang to the dance?" Katara asked, dieing to know.

"It was nothing, Sweetness. Much easier then it seems." Toph admitted.

"Do you think you're a good dancer?" Katara asked. Toph smirked.

"We'll find out tomorrow." She laughed. Katara giggled.

"I guess so." Just, then Song and Suki came over and grabbed sleeping bags by Katara.

"Hey guys." Katara said.

"Hey. Is Aang here?" Song asked, looking around.

"Not currently." Toph sniffed.

"Oh."

"Katara, I heard you got asked by Jet _and_ Zuko. Lucky!" Suki giggled.

"Actually, that's not lucky. It puts me in a horrible position!" Katara frowned.

"I'll take one of them." Suki volunteered. "No one's asked me yet."

"Don't….I know someone who could ask you." Katara smiled.

"You think?" asked Suki, knowing who Katara was talking about.

"Is this all you guys can talk about? Boys?" Toph sniffed again.

"Don't get pissed Toph; it's just that the dance is tomorrow." Katara said. Toph shrugged.

"Well, we don't have to talk about it if it offends you." Suki glanced at Toph.

"Whatever." Toph stood up and walked back into the bathroom line.

"What a...peculiar person." Song said.

"She's not that bad…..it's just her personality." Katara defended her.

Sokka joined them.

"Hey ladies." He grinned at Suki.

"Whoa, I've never seen you with your hair down!" Suki gasped as she saw Sokka's hair out of its ponytail.

"You like it, huh?" Sokka confirmed.

"Yeah." Suki gazed at him with a smile resting on her lips. Katara was sure that as long as she stared at Sokka, she would keep that lovesick smile on her face.

Aang joined the group.

"Hey." He plopped down on a sleeping bag.

"Hey Aang." Song grinned at him.

"I'm going to be right back." Katara stood up and quickly walked out of the group. She was sure that if Toph came back to find Aang and Song sleeping next to each other, she would freak.

Looking around, she spotted Zuko pulling a sleeping bag into a corner alone. She quickly walked over to him.

"Hey." She sat down next to him.

"Nice jammies." He smirked.

Katara rolled her eyes. Classic Zuko.

"I'll have you know that I LIKE my pajamas." Katara said, as she looked down at her blue satin pants with dolphins on them and blue t-shirt.

"They're ok…for a preschooler."

"Shut up. You're so mean." She lightly punched him, restraining herself from hitting him too hard.

He grinned.

"Fine. What would you rather I wear?" Katara teased.

He threw up his hands. "Oh, I don't know." Actually, he DID know, but he wasn't going to tell her…..

"Then don't criticize." Katara huffed.

"Alright, alright. Truce." He stuck out his hand and she slapped it.

"Hey!" he growled. "Show some respect."

"I swear, you could be a prince because you're SO high maintenance." Katara rolled her eyes.

"Thanks." He smirked.

"That's NOT a compliment."

"Whatever."

"So, are you a good dancer?" Katara asked, completely out of the blue. Zuko looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

"I don't really want to answer that."

"Please tell me. I NEED to know." She joked.

"Well…..I took formal dance lessons as a kid. But only because my mom made me!" he admitted.

"Ha! You? DANCE LESSONS?" Katara burst out laughing.

"Don't laugh at me, _pajamas_."

"Hey!" Katara stopped laughing.

"I'm leaving." She grinned at him, and got up.

"Fine. Bye." He pulled out his phone and started texting someone. Katara shrugged and walked back to her friends, only to find Toph and Song fighting.

"I was going to ask Aang! I thought of it before you!" Song said, almost crying.

"Well, too late, sister!" Toph grinned wickedly.

"Guys, it really doesn't matter…." Aang mumbled.

Both girls glared at him.

"You have no say in this, Twinkletoes. You're going with me, and that's final!" Toph snapped, uncharacteristically angry.

"Whoa. You guys, it's not that big of a deal!" Katara said as she joined the conversation. Sokka and Suki were sitting on the edge of the group, trying as much as humanly possible to stay out of the fight.

"I guess not." Song glanced down, looking ashamed.

"I'm sorry Aang." She got up and ran to the bathroom, crying.

"See Twinkletoes, you wouldn't have wanted to go with her." Toph rolled her eyes.

"That's mean, stop it!" Aang said.

"Chill out, I was just kidding."

"Song was my friend! If you keep bashing her, I…I'll…."

"Say it." Said Toph, venom in every word.

Aang took a breath.

"I won't go to the dance with you!" Everyone fell deathly quiet.

"If that's how you want it." Toph stood up and walked to the mess hall doors.

"Where are you going?" Aang called after her.

"My cabin." She coldly replied.

She stepped into the stormy night. Aang made to go after her, but Katara pulled him back.

"No! Don't go outside. Just let her calm down." Katara took his hands and gently pulled him back down.

"I made a huge mistake, Katara." Aang said, regret in his grey eyes.

"No, you didn't. Toph was being snippy, and you had every right to call her out on it. Besides, don't you know why she was being so mean?"

"No." Aang shook his head. Katara gave a silent eye roll.

_Guys are sooo clueless._

"Because she likes you. She wouldn't care if she didn't! She's just jealous!" Katara grinned, trying to make him feel better.

"Oh. That still doesn't make me feel any better. Can I like someone who's mean?"

"You're being overdramatic. She's just worried that Song will…um….steal you, I guess." Katara replied, shrugging.

"How do girls know this stuff?" Aang asked. Katara laughed.

"I don't know. We're just…observant. Unlike you uncaring boys." She teased.

"Thanks Katara." Aang grinned.

"You're welcome."

The counselors came in and turned off the lights, asking everyone to go to sleep. People got into their sleeping bags, and began to quiet down. Song still hadn't come out of the bathroom, and Katara was worried. But she would be ok….hopefully.

As she laid down, she reiterated her conversation with Aang over and over again. The poor little boy was just confused; even though he was 15, he still seemed like a child.

Katara remembered when Aang had had a crush on _her_. It was in junior high, and he had completely, head-over-heels, fallen in love with her. He acted so immaturely to try to get her to notice him, even doing things like playing mean pranks on Sokka to get her to notice him.

Well, the noticing part had worked, but Katara was completely turned off by his actions. He had acted almost like Toph had…..out of insecurity and desperation.

_Thank gods those awkward teen years are over. Now, having a crush is so much different…and better……_Katara observed as she bundled into her sleeping bag.

Whispers filled the hall as friends talked to each other. Katara drowsily closed her eyes, just wanting tomorrow to come. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt someone move directly next to her.

Being nearly asleep, she thought nothing of her new visitor, but when the person moved his/her sleeping bag so close to Katara that they were touching, she flew wide awake.

She turned her head slightly, only to find that Jet had moved next to her! Suddenly, her inside clenched, and for no apparent reason, she felt afraid. His back was facing her, but she knew he was awake. What a perv!

Quickly she got up and pulled her sleeping bag next to Sokka. If there was anything she could do to feel safer, it was sleep next to him. He lazily turned to face her.

"Is something wrong?" he sleepily asked.

"Jet keeps trying to sleep next to me." Katara whispered.

"What?" his eyes shot open.

"It's not that big of a deal…..but I just feel uncomfortable." She admitted.

"Then just sleep here. If he tries to come next to you, just wake me up." Sokka growled in a voice that promised a slow death for Jet if he was to come close to Katara.

She sighed in relief. She could always count on Sokka.

"Thanks." She closed her eyes and tried to get some rest.

OOOOO

**Since the story's almost over, I'm trying to update more quickly. So, here you go! I don't like this chapter AT ALL, so feel free to tell me that. I'm just building up the drama for the dance! LOL! I swear, that chapter will be AMAZING.**

**Also, I want to get to 100 reviews before the end of this story…is it possible to make that happen???? I hope so!**

**Sayomi**


	11. Bus Rides and Siestas

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 11**

**This chapter is basically meant to be filler, and to express my thanks, so here it goes. **

**I would like to thank ALL my reviewers for your loyal reading of my story, in its best times and its worst times. I would especially like to thank my anonymous reviewers who STILL managed to find my story and review, even though they didn't have alerts of ANYTHING. I am so grateful. I am also thankful for the reviewers who have stuck with me from the beginning. I can't believe that I have had over 2,000 hits and 100 reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **

**Alright, if I go on any further I might start crying. So, on with the chapter!**

OOOOOO

Katara woke up the next morning freezing. After shaking her sleepy head, she realized that she had kicked out of her sleeping bag at night. She checked the clock on the mess hall wall, only to realize that it was about 7:00 in the morning. The second thing she noticed was the storm had stopped, and feeble morning sunshine was shining in through the windows. She grinned, and re-burrowed herself into her bag, trying to catch some extra sleep. She did NOT need to look tired for tonight.

OOOOOOO

She later woke up, feeling a tiny bit gross, as she always did when she slept in. She had to admit, camp brought her worst habits. She _never_ slept in at home. Yawning, she prepared to get up when she felt someone's arms around her.

"Ummm, Suki." The person holding her mumbled.

"Jet, GET OFF!" Katara's still half-asleep brain tried desperately to think of who this was, and the name "Jet" came to mind.

Her scream woke up almost everyone in the mess hall.

"Someone call my name? I'm here; no need to worry." Katara turned her head to see that Jet was in the same place she left him last night.

Feeling her face redden, she turned to see that Sokka had put his arms around her.

"YOU OAF!" she forced him off of her, and furiously whirled on him.

"Don't get mad Suki. You know I love you." Sokka mumbled, his eyes still closed. Suki, who was actually very close to Sokka, sat up when she heard her name, her eyes widening with every second

"Sokka, wake up." Katara pleaded, now completely embarrassed.

"What? What's going on? Why is everyone staring at me?" Sokka blinked his eyes as he stared at the people staring at him.

"Never mind. Just lay back down." Katara quickly lay down in her sleeping bag and started fake snoring.

"Ok." Sokka shrugged and turned to go back to sleep when Rokku walked in.

"Good, you're all awake." He smiled at all the teens.

"It is my displeasure to announce that this is you last day here. It has been a wonderful experience for me, and I hope it has been the same for you. We have a busy last day today, so let's get started. Lunch will be at 1:00, served in here. At 5:00, a bus will pick everyone up for dinner, then when we are finished we will proceed to the dance." Rokku went on.

Katara grinned. Past memories of the dinner and dance flooded her memory, almost painfully. Some of the people she had hung out with in the past couple years weren't at camp this year, and she greatly missed them.

Trying to drag herself out of past memories, she half-heartedly listened to Rokku drone on about people that needed to turn in their bus permission slips.

Since she was failing miserably at listening, she sank into a daydream about what was going to take place later that night. Was Zuko going to dance with her? Was he going to talk to her? What if he kissed her?

Katara grinned at the last thought, thinking about his thin lips pressed against hers.

Then she mentally sighed. No, there would be none of that tonight; they had only known each other for a week, she reminded herself.

Oh well. It would be fun.

For the rest of the morning, her and Suki and Song hung out in their cabin, just relaxing and waiting for later. Katara knew from experience that the dance went LATE, so she advised her new friends to take it easy beforehand.

"He's so adorable." Suki said for the umpteenth time. They had previously talked about how Sokka had finally asked Suki to the dance. It was cute.

"So we've heard." Katara gently teased. Suki's grin only widened.

"It's too bad today is the last day." Song sighed. Katara and Suki nodded in agreement.

"What if I never see you guys again?" Katara buried her face in her pillow.

"Why would you say that?" Suki went over and sat on Katara's bed.

"Well….I was just remembering today my friends from the past times I've been here. I never see them again if they don't keep coming back, and it really makes me sad." Katara admitted.

"We have to keep in touch!" Suki wailed.

Suddenly, Song sat up.

"Hey. Guys." Her face held a grin so huge that Katara thought her face would crack.

"What's up?" Suki raised a brow.

"I don't know why I didn't think about this before!" she clapped her hands.

"Alright, tell us already!" Katara sat up.

"You guys don't know this, but my mom owns a spa slash hotel. I could have you guys and some other people from camp over for a weekend!"

"Omigods, we could stay in the hotel!" Katara began jumping up on her bed, holding Suki's hands.

"We could go to a spa! I could see Sokka again!" Suki squealed.

"Could you invite Zuko?" Katara faintly blushed.

"Sure. Even though I don't really know him well…."

"I'll vouch for him. Would we have to pay you?" Katara mind started imagining all the adventures they could have.

"Maybe a small fee…..but I'm sure Mom wouldn't mind scrounging up some extra rooms."

Katara and Suki started screaming and resumed their wild jumping. Song jumped up with them, and they fell in a giggling pile on Katara's bed.

"Alright, this is such a good idea. How about in a few weeks, just before classes start?" Suki offered the suggestion hopefully.

"Let me go call my mom right now. I'll be right back." Song exited the cabin to use the mess hall phone.

"I love Song. This will be awesome…if we can do it." Katara nodded at Suki's statement.

OOOOOOOOOO

Katara and Suki and Song sat at a table by themselves during lunch, planning a fun weekend. Song's mom had said that they might be able to scrape a couple extra rooms for a few friends of Song's, although she had stated the spa wouldn't exactly be free. But oh well, you couldn't have everything in life.

"It's totally great of your mom to do this." Suki gushed. Song beamed.

"It's not a problem. Just think, it'll be a camp reunion."

"Let's make a list of people to invite." Song whipped up a paper and pen.

"Well, me, Suki, you, Sokka, Zuko….." Katara started naming names.

"Aang." Song finished.

"Wait, what about Toph?" Katara's face dropped. Song and Suki exchanged a glance.

"Well……."

"I know how you guys feel about her, but she's just defensive. She's nothing at all like you saw last night." Katara tried to plead with her two friends. Son sighed and added her to the list.

"Thanks so much!" Katara cried.

Song shook her head, but smiled.

"I would feel bad if I left someone's friend out. So no big deal." Katara nodded at her words. The three teens finished their lunch and left to go back to their cabins.

Katara immediately sat before her suitcase to contemplate her outfit. On the camp brochure it had said to bring something nice because of the dance, so she had the clothes, she didn't know what to wear.

Sighing, Katara walked over to Suki.

"Could you pick out an outfit for me? I trust your judgment." Suki laughed and nodded, going over to Katara' suitcase.

"Oooh, you brought some cute stuff. Can I borrow something?" Suki asked.

"Go ahead. Wake me up when you are finished." Katara lay down on her bed to take yet another nap. Anymore siestas and she would turn into an old lady. She grinned at the thought.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Katara? Get up! It's almost time to leave!" Suki was shaking her awake. She was already dressed in a light green sundress of Katara's, and she left her short hair down. It was positively adorable.

"We're leaving in like, 20 minutes." Song joined Suki, and she was also dressed in a light pink skirt and white tank top.

"Thanks for waking me up earlier!" Katara shrieked. Jumping out of bed, she ran to her suitcase.

"What will I wear?" She began rifling through her clothes. Suki placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax; I picked something out for you." Suki handed her a blue halter sundress, and shoved her into the closet to change. Katara hurriedly tore her t-shirt and shorts off, and threw on the dress. Undoing her hair from its usual braid, she quickly stepped out.

"A little help with the bird's nest?" She frantically searched for a brush for her tangled hair. Song handed her a brush, and Katara brushed it, deciding her normal waves would have to suffice for a hairdo. She grabbed her blue flip-flops, brushed her teeth, put on her makeup, and pulled Song and Suki out the door to the mess hall with a few minutes to spare.

OOOOOO

A while before, Zuko was with Iroh in the mess hall kitchens.

"This is not going to be fun." Zuko sighed to Iroh, not in a mad way, but in a more resigned tone.

"Nephew, it'll be fine. Just talk about her, not yourself. Women love it when you ask them about their lives! And viola, the talking part is solved for the rest of the night." Iroh grinned.

"Thanks for the tip. It's not the talking I'm worried about." Zuko was trying extremely hard not to show how nervous he was. He hadn't really been asked to dances at his high school, so this was one of his first experiences. How did these stupid things work?

"You have nothing to worry about. Just dance with her and have a good time."

"But Uncle…..I can't dance." Zuko said through gritted teeth.

"Oh. Too bad I couldn't give you a demonstration." Iroh sighed as he scrubbed plates.

"I don't think you can dance like most people do now." Zuko's face turned red. Uncle didn't exactly know what _grinding_ was.

"Zuko, I have never seen you so nervous about something. This girl must be special." Iroh beamed.

"No! I've only known her for a week…..that's not possible." Zuko shok his head.

"You have nothing to worry about. You might never see this young lady again, you know."

"Uncle! How could you say such a thing?" Zuko suddenly remembered this wasn't school, or home. Of course Katara would go back to her home, wherever that was. A sudden flash of realization hit him as he realized he might not see her again.

"How could you have forgotten? You'll just have to get her wireless phone number."

"It's a cell phone." Zuko muttered.

"Enough jabbering. You must go get ready. Do you want me to do your hair, like I did for that one date with that girl….Jin! Aha!" Uncle rubbed his hands together.

Zuko inwardly grimaced as he remembered his hair plastered to his head, all shiny and stiff.

"I'll pass. See you later tonight."

"I'll be at the dance hall!" Iroh waved cheerily to his nephew as he began to walk back to his cabins.

_They grow up so fast, _He thought as he watched Zuko' retreating form.

OOOOOOOOO

Zuko had worked hard to get his….nerves down all afternoon, and after a refreshing nap, he finally had them under control. But as soon as he watched Katara burst into the hall, cheeks flushed and hair down, he found his heart beating wildly as he looked at her. She grinned and immediately went over to him and hugged him, completely surprising him. Before she pulled away, he accidentally inhaled the scent of her hair. It smelled like the ocean, clear and slightly salty. At least she didn't smell like girly shampoo.

"Hey. You look cute!" she grinned again.

"Thanks. You do too."

"Thanks! You can probably tell I just woke up 5 minutes ago." She giggled.

"No, not really." He kept his voice as level as possible.

"Alright, the bus is ready to board! Line up outside and sit with your date." Rokku walked in with a few other counselors who were chaperoning, and started to herd kids out the doors. Katara grabbed Zuko's hand and led him to the bus.

"Come on. We're sitting in the back."

"Alright." He climbed up after her and sat down in the back next to her.

"I ride a bus exactly like this to school everyday. It's such a drag." Katara said as she settled herself in.

"My uncle drives me to school everyday." Zuko watched as she hurriedly fixed her hair.

"Well, at least you won't have to do that again."

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked, puzzled.

"Aren't you going to college when summer is over?" Katara asked.

"What? I'm a junior!"

"Oh. I just thought since you were 18 and all…."

"That's what everyone thinks."

"Were you held back?" Katara knew she was probing a bit too much, but now she was curious.

"No." he sighed, knowing he would have to tell her.

She waited patiently.

"When I was about 14 my house caught on fire. I was burned, and spent most of the year in the hospital." His voice betrayed no emotion as he spoke.

"I'm so sorry." Katara's eyes widened in shock. So that was how he got that huge scar over his eye.

"Don't be. You weren't there." He shrugged. It surprised him that he could be so nonchalant about this subject after keeping it locked in his heart for 4 years.

They both sat by each other in silence for the net moment. Katara spotted Suki and Sokka a few rows up, talking and laughing. She turned a few more rows up and found Aang and Toph, thumb wrestling. Katara silently rolled her eyes.

"So, uh, what's your life like?" Zuko remembered his uncle's advice and blurted out the first question that came to his mind.

Katara laughed. "Oh you know, filled with school, family, and friends. Good times." She said.

"That's…good." Zuko bowed his head a little, knowing how stupid he sounded.

"What do you do on weekends? I usually am busy with swimming, but most of the time our little gang goes out."

"I practice martial arts in my free time. I work in my uncle's tea shop too." He added as an afterthought.

Katara laughed again.

"Wait, you work in a teashop? And wear an apron?" She laughed.

"When you say it like that, it seems like a crime." He rolled his eyes.

"No, it's not! Actually, I love tea. You'll have to make me some."

"When? This is out last night here." He stopped himself from saying "together". That would have sounded way too weird.

"I'm not supposed to tell you yet."

"What?" he was thoroughly confused.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything."

"Are you going to stalk me?" he smirked.

"Ha, you wish." She rolled her eyes playfully. Zuko was about to retort when the bus came to a sudden stop in front of a restaurant.

"Ooh, we're here!" Katara squealed.

"What is this place?"

"Evergreen. This totally cute Chinese place." Katara explained before getting up.

Zuko's stomach rumbled, and Katara noticed.

"Come on. You really need to try this stuff; it's so good." They got off the bus, stepped into the parking lot, and walked into the restaurant.

OOOOOOOOOO

**Woo-hoo! Another chapter. Tell me what ya think. Oh, Jesse Lin, I'm sorry I described their clothes in this chapter, I felt like I had to. :) **

**Oh, did you guys realize I kind of set myself up for a sequel? What do you guys think of the idea?**


	12. Danceoffs and Delights

**Camp Avatar: Chapter 12**

**Ye-yah! Bring on the dinner and dance!**

**Warning: Prepare yourself for a LONG chapter. Make sure you don't have anything else going on. **

**Oh, to Bianca: Don't worry, there is MAJOR Zutara ahead. **

**Thanks for the positive feedback on a possible sequel. Still not sure. **

**Also, I suggest listening to Crime Mob's single "Rock Yo Hips" to set the mood of this chapter. And yes, I make a reference to it further down.**

OOOOOOOOO

Katara walked into Evergreen and inhaled deeply. It smelled of spicy teriyaki and steamed vegetables. She grinned at the wonderful smell.

All the couples went off into separate tables, and Katara motioned for Zuko to come with her to a booth. They sat down on the comfy red couch of the booth, and pulled out the menus.

"Everything here is amazing. I suggest getting one of those sampler platters." Katara said. Zuko raised his brow as he surveyed the long menu.

"Is anything spicy?" he asked. His face was turned so that Katara saw his scarred cheek. For an instant when she looked at him, she longed to reach out and touch the sharp corner where his jaw and neck joined. She shook her head to quell that rather random thought.

"Did you hear me?" Zuko asked again. He wondered why she was staring at his neck.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Half the stuff on here is spicy; do you like that kind of food."

He nodded. "It's what my mother used to make."

"Does your mother still cook spicy food?" Katara asked.

"She died in the fire." He didn't look up from the menu, trying not to think about the fact.

"Oh." Katara felt furious. How could she bring up his horrible past twice in one evening! It wasn't even over; she would have to be careful.

She looked away, putting her menu aside. She already knew what she wanted.

"Which do you recommend more: the mandarin flame duck, or sweet and spicy dumplings?" Zuko was trying hard not to have an awkward silence.

Katara giggled.

"You have expensive tastes. There ya go, another reason why you could be a prince!"

"Oh, shut it. The camp is paying." He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I recommend the duck." Katara's mouth began watering a the thought.

"Alright." He set down his menu and laced his fingers together.

"So, what was thing you wouldn't tell me about before?" Zuko asked.

"What?" Katara's eyes widened.

"About…us not seeing each other again." He said quietly.

"Oh, that. Well, I guess I could tell you now." Katara leaned forward, just a bit. Zuko did the same. She began in a low voice.

"Well, Song's mom owns a hotel, and me and her and Suki were thinking we could have some people stay there for a few nights, just like a camp reunion!" she grinned.

"That sounds amazing. She owns a hotel? And she would let us stay?"

"Who said that you were going?" Katara smirked.

"Oh." Zuko raised a brow.

"Kidding! I asked if you could come." She blushed. Neither of them seemed to notice that they were still leaning close to each other.

Zuko caught her gaze, and held it. Katara tilted her head up, and closed her eyes. She was so sure he was going to kiss her. Simultaneously, his head leaned downward to meet her upturned lips.

"Hello! My name is Oma." An enthusiastic waitress popped out of _nowhere_ and addressed them, completely ruining the moment Katara was _sure_ she was going to get.

The teens blushed, and Katara pulled away from her spot and smoothed her hair nervously, trying to not think about what had been about to happen.

"What can I get for you?" Oma asked.

"I'll take mango juice." Katara confirmed, hoping her voice wasn't trembling.

"Water." Zuko nodded.

"Are you ready to order?" Oma pushed.

"Sure. I'll have the teriyaki chicken, level 6."

"What's a level?" Zuko hissed as Oma wrote down her order.

"The spice factor of your order. 6 is pretty high." Katara whispered back.

"I could totally beat that." A small smirk worked its way onto his lips.

"I'd like to see you try." _Bless those adorable lips,_ Katara thought silently as they curled higher.

"Oma, I'll have the mandarin flame duck, level 9." He addressed the waiter.

"Wait, Oma, can I change mine? I'll need level ten." She locked eyes with Zuko.

"Oma, change mine to level 10 as well." Zuko said. He didn't break his gaze with Katara.

The poor waitress looked positively harassed as she quickly excused herself from their table.

"You are so not going to be able to eat this." Katara laughed.

"Actually, I don't think such a small girl can handle the hottest level there is."

"What? You are so going down! I can't wait to see you cry as it burns your tongue."

"I won't cry. More likely your face will turn blue, and then it'll match your dress."

"We'll see about that." Katara growled.

When their steaming food was finally placed in front of them, Katara gulped. Level 10 was extremely hot. She wouldn't be surprised if she hurt herself eating this stupid chicken.

"Ladies first." Zuko motioned for her to try the first bite.

"At you're acknowledging I'm a lady." Katara stalled.

"Yeah. It's nice to know I have eyes, isn't it?" he cocked his head, challenging her.

"Fine, fine, I'm going." Katara carefully picked a piece of chicken with her chopsticks and sniffed it. She nearly sneezed, but bid herself keep her composure.

"Are you scared?" Zuko prodded.

"No!" she said. Closing her eyes, she shoved the meat into her mouth. She ground her jaws quickly. Sensing no disturbance, she relaxed and opened her eyes.

She sent a cocky grin over to Zuko, who rolled his eyes. Confidently, Katara reached for another piece.

Unexpectedly, something burst in her mouth. The spices that were flooding her senses sent convulsions through her spine as hot flavors poured into her taste buds. Less then a second later, her eyes began to burn, and pressure began to build in her ears. Tears began to leak down her face as her mouth became completely numb.

"Ha!" Zuko laughed, but was unprepared as Katara whirled on him.

She turned away to spit the food into her napkin, her eyes still burning.

"Your turn." She gasped, her voice dry.

"Are you ok?" Zuko laugh had changed to a look of curious concern.

"No." Katara downed her drink, and took a protesting Zuko's, hardly noticing the cool water going down her throat.

"I was going to drink that." Zuko hissed.

"Deal with it." Katara dried her eyes.

"So, are you going to eat that or not?" she motioned to his plate. Zuko pushed it and hers towards the end of the table.

"Are you serious? I don't want to end up like you. Just share my noodles." He gently put his side dish in front of her, and motioned for her to start eating.

"Thanks. That was completely idiotic!" She burst as she picked at the noddles.

"Really?" Zuko smirked.

"Shut up, you ordered some too!"

"True. How are the noodles?"

"Very good actually." Katara's taste was beginning to come back a little. She could now taste the semi-crunchy noodles.

They slurped them in silence, until both of them caught one noodle in their mouths. Katara almost laughed at the string that was hanging between them, but quickly let it go, and it snapped Zuko in the face.

"Hey! Peasant." He glared as he wiped his mouth.

"Was that an insult a thousand years ago?" she grinned sweetly at him.

"Yes, it was."

They continued for a while in this fashion, easily talking and joking. Katara marveled at how easy it was to talk to Zuko, now that she had broken down his external barrier. He was a sweet guy actually, no matter what her first impression of him had been. Before both of them knew it, dinner was almost over, and it was time to quickly hurry up and finish desert.

"Hurry! Eat that cheesecake!" Katara cheered as Zuko began wolfing down the dessert, trying not to let it go to waste.

"What I'm surprised about is the fact that there's cheesecake in a Chinese restaurant." He said between forkfuls.

"Shut up and eat it; it's amazing!" Katara stole a bit from his plate.

"Hey! I was going to eat that!" Zuko sighed.

"Please, I don't really want you puking on me tonight while we're dancing."

"I'll have you know that I have taken dance lessons for many years, and I have never puked on anyone."

Katara raised a brow.

"Oh, the dance lessons that your mother made you take?"

"Yes." He quickly shoved another bite of cheesecake into his mouth, realizing his stupidity.

"Will you show me a more formal dance later on?" Katara asked. Zuko was so relived that she wasn't making fun of him that he agreed.

"Sure. I can tango, or….nevermind."

"Tango sounds good! I've actually done some of that before….for a little while, anyways."

"It's not that hard….fancy twirls, big dips, hip movements……"

"Zuko, I think you were born to be a dancer." Katara grinned.

He sighed.

"Listen, dancing helps in martial arts; that's why I took it."

"Okay, okay, I believe you." Katara's smile only got bigger as she took his hand, and plucked his fork from his fingers.

"Now come on, we have to go." He stood up, and offered Katara his arm, which she immediately took.

"This feels like prom. Too bad we're driving to the dance in a bus, and not a limo." Katara pretended to sigh. Zuko rolled his eyes.

"So picky. You don't need a limo to have fun at a stupid dance!"

"Sorry. Did you go to your school's prom?" Katara asked.

"No." Zuko answered shortly. Katara wondered why he didn't go. It wasn't like he was ugly or something………..

"Alright." They boarded the bus and sat down amidst the other teens, headed for Ba Sing Se Hall.

After a while of driving, the bus finally paused before a large cream-colored building. Its name was blazoned across the top in showy gold letters, and palms surrounded the entrance. It could have passed for a nightclub. Katara ignored Jet's stares as she exited the bus with Zuko, and walked with him inside. Its style was somewhat reminiscent of New York bars; sleek and simple. There was a lot of chrome and mirrors, and a disco ball was hung in the middle of the dance floor, which also happened to be made of chrome.

"Who knew this place was in the middle of the woods." Zuko whispered in Katara's ear. She nodded and glanced at the people already dancing. Yes, Ba Sing Se Hall was a nightclub, but she thought that as in previous years, Rokku had rented it out exclusively. Oh well.

"You ready to dance?" Katara asked Zuko as they headed toward the dance floor, trying to dodge twirling couples. He nodded and smiled a small smile.

They headed toward the middle as the song changed to a faster rap song. Katara grinned and began moving her hips, teasing Zuko a little. She snapped her fingers in time to the beat. Zuko raised a brow as if to say, _two can play this game_. He began to snap and lean. Katara laughed out loud at how he danced. It was completely different then what she had imagined.

_This is so fun,_ Katara thought as she danced. The DJ blasted the bass, tuning out everything except the promiscus music. Katara twirled, still laughing, only to spot Jet looking for her. She quickly backed up into Zuko by accident. Instead of pushing her away, he just grabbed her hips and continued dancing, much to Katara's surprise. She put her hands over Zuko's and leaned against him.

As she danced against him, her heart swelled. She could feel Zuko's body heat radiating from his body, and the warmth he instilled in her stomach where his hands were resting. She turned her head and smiled at him. He grinned back, and Katara felt cold shivers go down her back at his smile. He was the sexiest, cutest, best dancer in the world……

The DJ spun on a remix of Crime Mob's "Rock Yo Hips", and the crowd suddenly backed around two girls in the middle of the floor, forming a circle. Katara pulled away from Zuko and motioned for him to follow her through the crowd. She gasped as she realized the two girls in the middle who were preparing to dance off were none other then Toph and Song. Both of the girls glared warily at each other as the song started. Toph stepped forward first, and Song stepped back.

Toph spun around, and dropped to the floor, spinning on her hands. She was break dancing! Katara and everyone else screamed with laughter at the petite girl who was breaking better then anyone had ever seen.

Song intervened and began violently twirling like a ballerina. She stood on her tiptoes, and performed a series of leaps before landing on the floor in the splits. Toph retained her bored expression after feeling the light vibrations of Song. She cracked her knuckles and grabbed Aang into her circle. Song's mouth tightened, but she didn't do anything. Toph began dancing with Aang, much to the crowd's delight. The roars exploded as Song began leaping around again.

Katara clutched to Zuko as she laughed and laughed at the scene. Suddenly, someone pushed Katara and Zuko out as Aang, Toph, and Song exited. Suddenly, the both of them were encased in yells for dancing. Katara glanced at Zuko with fear in her eyes; she couldn't dance in front of hundreds of eyes! But Zuko winked, and grabbed her hands, twirling her around his form. In that split second, Katara realized he was tangoing. Processing this information, she began imitating the moves she had seen a few times in tangoers on TV.

The crowd screamed in approval as the couple got more and more into the dance, doing twirls and dips like no other. Katara caught Zuko's eye as he dipped her, and mouthed a silent "Thank you." He nodded in reply before bringing her up. The music changed to a salsa tune, but Katara and Zuko weren't done dancing. Katara furiously worked her hips as her campmates cheered her on. Zuko threw his head back in laughter as Katara dropped to the floor and came back up, still shaking her hips.

Finally, after what seemed like only a second, Zuko pulled Katara off to let someone else dance. Katara vaguely saw Sokka and Suki step up to the floor before she was completely lost in the throngs of people around her. She held on tightly to Zuko's hand as they threaded their way to the bar.

They finally reached the bar and sat down. Zuko ordered two waters, and Katara sat on his lap.

"Thank you!" she screamed in his ear.

"I'm surprise you're not making fun of me." He yelled back.

"I'll do that later." She replied. She glanced around, only to see some camp counselors standing off to the side, glaring at Sokka and Suki as they danced gangster-style on the floor.

"Thank gods they didn't see us." Katara pointed them out to Zuko, who nodded in agreement. He took the two waters that had just been delivered and handed one to Katara, holding up his glass in a toast. She clinked his cup, then thirstily drank the water down. Slamming her cup down, she got off Zuko and pulled back onto the dance floor. The lights had been completely turned down, and the strobe lights were going crazy. Katara resumed dancing with Zuko.

She was completely lost in the music until she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She turned around and her smile faded as she saw Jet standing in front of her.

"Hey." She yelled, trying to be polite. Zuko narrowed his eyes as he watched the two.

"You want to dance with me?" Jet asked. Katara sighed mentally as she remembered she said she would save him a dance. She nodded, and turned to Zuko, motioning that she would be back in a minute. He nodded, but narrowed his eyes even more. Jet pulled Katara away from Zuko and grabbed her hips, grinding them into his pelvis.

While this had been ok with Zuko, Katara felt extremely uncomfortable dancing with Jet. He had a shady aura around him, and made Katara slightly wary. As the song wore on, she wished for it to come to an end.

Zuko's grip on her had been gentle and comforting, but Jet's was possessive and seemed harsher. Katara continued to pray for the end.

After an eternity, the song ended and the DJ started a new one. But Jet continued to hold her! Forgetting her composure, she pulled herself from him.

"Ok, thanks, see ya later." She hurriedly ran into the crowd, but didn't get far before Jet had grabbed her wrist in the same possessive grip he had held her in before.

"Stay with me and dance." Jet began to pull her back again, but Katara resisted.

"No, that's ok, I have to get back to Zuko!" fear was building in the back of her mind erratically, and her common sense was telling her to get away from this strange boy. She pulled her arm, but he only gripped her tighter. Just as Katara felt her wrist would break, someone wrenched her arm away from Jet. Katara glanced next to her to see Zuko holding Jet's hand in fury.

"Don't touch her again." He hissed, in a voice that promised a quick death to Jet.

"She's not yours." Jet spat back.

"Actually, I asked to this dance. She is staying with me." Zuko growled. He protectively took Katara's hand as she felt her body melt with relief. Jet glared and stomped away.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." Zuko said. Katara nodded as she felt tears build in the back of her eyes.

They threaded their way through the crowd to the back door, hoping none of the counselors would notice they were missing. As they exited, Katara breathed in the fresh night air, a nice break from the stale and sweaty aroma she had been breathing in seconds ago. Out back was a pond with some benches enclosed by woods.

Katara heard a rustling in the bushes surrounding the pond, followed by a moan, and felt a heat rise to her cheeks. She glanced at Zuko, who didn't shoe that he had heard anything, and they sat down on a bench.

"I've been thanking you so much tonight, but I have to do it one more time. Jet was really creeping me out." Katara began.

"I know." Zuko ran his hand through Katara's hair, stopping gently on her jawbone. Katara felt flutters at the light touch, and leaned forward as Zuko did.

Their lips met, and stayed together as the two exchanged a long kiss. Gasping, Katara broke away, still savoring the feeling of Zuko's mouth on hers as she looked into his fiercely golden eyes. He grinned at her.

"Just glad I could be your savior." She laughed and leaned in again, planting a chaste kiss on his jaw.

OOOOOO

That night as Katara laid on her camp bunk, she reflected on all that had happened in the past week. She had made so many new friends, and new boyfriend, (Zuko asked her out afterwards,) and would never forget her experiences here. Camp Avatar was the best camp in the entire world.

_I can't wait till I see these people again_, was Katara's last thought as she drifted off to sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOO

**Alright guys, what do you think? I don't really like this chapter, I feel like the ending is too rushed, but oh well, I'm posting it anyway. **

**Thanks for everyone's reviews. I might take a little break from writing as finals come up, but not to worry! I'll be back before you know it.**

**Lady Sayomi**


	13. Epilogue

**Camp Avatar: Epilogue**

**Alright, here's the deal. NO ONE liked how the ending of the last chapter was so rushed, so I'm doing an epilogue!**

**By the way guys, thanks for being honest and nice at the same time. I'm very sorry to disappoint.**

OOOOOOO

Zuko awoke to the sun painfully invading the cool darkness of his closed eyelids. He blinked blearily and yawned and stretched, throwing a dirty glance at the sleeping form of Jet two beds away.

He quickly got up and began some last minute packing after performing his normal hygienic routine. Finally, he had everything together, and hastily left the cabin, carrying his bags with him to the mess hall where he would meet Iroh.

He dragged his bags over the dirt, not caring about anything besides the dull ache in his heart that occurred whenever he left someplace he loved. He was always like this after a vacation, and the only cure for his mopey attitude was a cold shower.

He reached the doors of the mess hall, which was completely empty. He stared at them as if to say "Do I really want to go in?" His reflection mocked him as he debated whether he should at least say goodbye to Katara.

Deciding it wasn't too early, he turned around and walked to Katara's cabin. He stood outside the door and took a deep breath before gently opening the door. Everyone was asleep, thank gods, and he gingery stepped in the little cabin. He examined the beds, looking for Katara. One girl had really short hair; she couldn't be her. Another girl had long brown hair, but her skin was too pale. He finally spotted her towards the back of the room, and he walked over.

He had to stop himself from staring at her sleeping form for too long. She just looked so peaceful this way; her hair was down and fanned out around her pillow while her face was completely relaxed. He almost timidly reached his hand out and gently shook her shoulder.

"Five more minutes." Katara grumbled. She pulled the covers up, and turned around with her back to Zuko.

"Katara, it's me." Zuko shook her shoulder again. This time, Katara sat up, rubbing her eyes. She stared at Zuko for a couple seconds before finally realizing who he was.

"Zuko!" she whisper-yelled. In another corner of the room, one of the girls turned over.

"Quiet. I just came to say goodbye." He sat down on her bed as she pulled the covers up to her chest.

"Why do you have to leave so early? We still have breakfast." Katara asked.

"Uncle needs to get back, or something like that." Zuko rolled his eyes.

Katara slid her hand over his.

"I had a great time here. I hope I can see you in a couple weeks!" she smiled tiredly as Zuko's face heated up gently.

"Same. It sucks that we have to leave." He nodded.

"Will you come back next year?"

"We'll be out of high school, and I'll need to get a job for college."

"Oh, yeah. It's hard to believe that next year, we'll be going to college." Katara sighed, and ran her other hand through her hair. She and Zuko hadn't moved their hands from each other yet.

"Don't worry about it now. Can I have your number?" Zuko asked, pulling his hands away to reach for his phone. Katara got up and walked over to bags, pulling hers out as well. After exchanging numbers, they put their phones away, and walked to the door.

Katara leaned against the frame as Zuko collected his bags and prepared to leave. As he was exiting, he turned and quickly kissed Katara lightly on the jaw. She grinned and squeezed his hand.

He left the cabin a couple seconds later, and Katara just stood there, her hand covering the spot he had kissed. Her tiredness had been banished with that small action, but she still climbed into bed. Even so, she couldn't fall back asleep.

However, for the rest of the day, she felt asleep. Like her world was currently a dream. Breakfast and goodbyes passed quickly, with the hurried exchanging of numbers and hugs. As Katara boarded the bus for home, she began to feel the growing pain in her heart that marked her leaving. She sighed and stared out the window the whole way home, not really talking to her friends. As the scenery flew bye, she relived all her fond memories of camp, storing them away for later when she would need them.

As she arrived home, she immediately went up to her room and began to unpack. As she held her clothes, she could smell the camp in them. That smoky outdoor smell mixed with sweat brought back fresh memories. A tear slid down Katara cheek before she quickly wiped away, smiling.

She was always like this when she left places. Deciding packing wasn't the best thing for herself at the moment, she slunk downstairs to wait for her father to come home from work. She found Sokka playing his gaming station, and she curled up next to him on the couch.

"What's up?" Sokka asked he continued to stare at the TV.

"I'm sad. Don't you miss camp yet?" She sighed.

"Well, yeah." He put down his controller and put his arm around his little sister.

"But we'll be back. Just think of how much fun you had! Why don't you go eat something; that always makes me feel better." He grinned.

Katara smiled back.

"Men." she shoved him lightly before giving him a hug. He patted her on the back and she let go, walking into the kitchen.

As she cooked herself some macaroni shells, her phone rang. Annoyed that someone was about to interrupt her comfort dinner, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Katara, it's Suki." Katara's mood vanished instantly at the sound of her friend's voice.

"Suki! I miss you guys so much!"

"Geez, it's only been a day." Katara could hear Suki smiling on the other end of the line.

"Still. So what's up?"

"Well, I just talked to Song. She confirmed out little camp reunion in about four weeks, exactly." Katara grinned wider.

The girls exchanged the necesary information, and hung up with promises to call again. Katara felt so much better then before, and she dug into her shells with more energy.

She couldn't wait for this reunion. She brought her phone out to call Zuko, but stopped herself from dialing his number. It _had _only been a day; she could a little while until she heard his voice again. And yes, she would hear him again.

Katara felt all warm as thought about Zuko again; his kisses, his actions, hell, even his eyes, were so enthralling. What she wouldn't give to be in his arms again...

She would be in them soon, she was sure.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Saying goodbye doesn't mean anything. It's the time we spent together that matters, not how we left it._

_-Trey Parker and Matt Stone_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Ok guys, was that better? Oh god, I hope so. I was upset at my horrible ending last time. So tell me what you think! **

**And be sure to look out for the sequel, coming out sometime in the next week or so. Most likely sometime after finals, I'm** **thinking. **

**Lady Sayomi**


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